Storylines about CSA can help people recognise their own experiences. They can spark empowering and healing conversation.
I didn’t have that talk with my boys as it felt too raw but I will. 🌸

Thank you @bbceastenders and particularly to #jessiewallace for getting it right

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#CSA

Fiction can be a mirror so clear it physically hurts. I see my child self in Kat and in other storylines in books/films/shows.
That’s why storytelling informed by lived experience matters - and why I’m pleased to advise the @Csarepsproject . csa-in-fiction.com 5/

When I disclosed, I was told:

“We thought he was like that, but we tried not to leave you alone with him.”
It might sound harsh, but I’m not sure they tried hard enough. 4/

Watching with my sons (13 & 11) felt important.
I wanted them to see what some families can hide - the lies at the dinner table, the rewriting of history, the silence around “that” relative -
The ones we suspect or know about but protect. 3/

If you’ve watched the Kat/Zoe/Uncle Harry storyline, you’ll know how devastating it is - and it’s resurfaced again. As a survivor of CSA/rape within the family, watching Kat tell her son Tommy that Zoe was conceived through rape was hard to watch. 2/

The therapists work in different schools, so a significant reach in terms of the children and families they support.

Peg was my little helper, and she didn’t bark once! 😍

3/

Lots of discussion around stigma, family reputation, the importance of being human first - and how to make a difference in a world that prefers to pathologise those who have suffered CSA.

2/

My next talk that might be of interest is with @jowatson-ad4e.bsky.social
- ‘An Audience With An Ally’ series on 17th July.

Tickets going fast. 🧡

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-audienc...

#CSA #DropTheDisorder #SupportSurvivors

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I shared a more hopeful alternative - my incredible journey with Patricia Walsh - therapist and co-author of The Flying Child - A Cautionary Fairy Tale For Adults. Someone called our journey ‘radical’ - and I agree. Yes it is. Radical, within the framework of safety & containment, saves lives. 🌸 3/

I shared ‘Door Handle Moment’ - a visual poem detailing my experience. (This poem I first performed at @dropthedisorder
poetry night, and the film is produced and spoken by the very wonderful @sur5vor.bsky.social

2/