Woman With a Mission
“One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.”
- E.M Forster
“What would be different if we saw each other as people with many stories – rather than people with many symptoms?’
- Beth Filson in (Searching for a Rose Garden’)
I have become a woman with a mission.
After my successful talk/reading for Brecon and District Mind, the direction I’m now planning is to continue organising talks about my book – ‘Wearing Red, One Woman’s Journey to Sanity,’ focusing on the journey of recovery from childhood sexual abuse trauma – which I’ll refer to as CSA. My emphasis will be on the important aspect of raising awareness concerning CSA.
Lived experience is so important. It is crucial that those of us who can speak out do so to reduce the stigma and isolation.
I also intend to raise my profile within the CSA community and become an ambassador and activist to encourage others to release secrets, speak out and be heard.
I’m going to reconnect with my original purpose in writing my book of supporting others to show it is possible to survive such experiences, come out the other side and create a successful life of integrity and self-respect.
According to NSPCC statistics in 2021, we don't know exactly how many children in the UK experience CSA. However, research suggests the figure is around 1 in 20 children in the UK. The Rape Crisis website suggests that figure is actually 1 in 6.
Shocking statistics that are hard to swallow in our day and age.
Shifts in cultural and societal attitudes could help survivors fare better with their healing.
My book highlighted the inextricable link between trauma caused by CSA and the long-term effects on adult mental health. The traumatic stigmatisation; feelings of betrayal and abandonment; powerlessness; addiction; self-harming; the list of damage is endless.
The shame, secrecy and stigma surrounding CSA and mental health can prevent people from speaking out. I want to be part of the movement that helps to reduce this shame and isolation.
To what degree have attitudes changed at this juncture in 2023?
I wish I could say that the miracle has happened -
That in the early 21st Century we live in a society where CSA has been eradicated.
That society is no longer afraid of those who are different from the ‘norm.’
That the specialised treatment we need to recover from CSA and maintain our mental wellbeing is readily available within the NHS and that we have a choice as to which talking therapies, medicine or group support suits us best.
That we exist in partnership with the medical profession, making joint decisions about our health, whichever branch we associate with - psychiatry, psychology, physiology etc.
That we are listened to and heard when relating our stories, without being judged, labelled, or herded into a box.
That psychological / psychiatric support is ‘trauma-informed’. The first question asked is ‘What happened to you? not ‘What is wrong with you?
That the word ‘mad’ has been reclaimed. Feeling mad is part of our experience, like breaking a leg.
Sadly, this remains a utopian vision.
CSA remains a difficult subject to talk about and is not taken seriously enough. I want to be part of the movement that is working to change this.
Treatment is still severely underfunded, with long waiting lists.
The good news is that progress is being made. Barriers are being knocked down.
But it’s all happening so slowly.
Next week I’ll be focusing on the long term effects of CSA that it’s useful to be aware of. I hope that you will stay with me on this journey and I would love to hear your thoughts. Just use the email link on my website here.
Author of ‘Wearing Red, One Woman’s Journey to Sanity’
Available from www.browndogbooks.uk (book) and www.amazon.co.uk (Kindle)