As a survivor of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) I find speaking out a double edged sword; in one way I it feels liberating, in another extremely exposing. Either way it comes with a burst of emotion and sometimes a tail spin of dissociation! It’s tricky! So, last week when I co-authored a piece published in […]
Faith and abuse
Our Monday night online peer support group is for survivors whose faith plays a significant role in their survivor journey. It might be because we were abused in a faith setting. Or perhaps it was familial or domestic abuse, and the response of our faith community when we disclosed was unhelpful or re-abusive. We try […]
Help That Actually Helps Survivors, Please
By Susanna Alyce: Survivor of CSA. Childhoods shape the adults we become. Traumatic experiences re-shape the people we are. When we are, as children, sexually abused (CSA) how could that not shape us? When we are subjected to Sexual Violence (SV) it traumatises us and leaves us with a tsunami of traumatic distress, fear, dread, […]
5 Books for Struggling Abuse Survivors
The healing process is vital for abuse survivors, but it is important to acknowledge that it is also a challenging ordeal to live with past trauma. This can be especially difficult for children. In our post ‘Safe, Seen, Supported’ we outline that one in five children experience at least one form of abuse. Recognising this issue, our […]
LOUDfence
LOUDfence LOUDfence is a visible display of support and solidarity with those affected by abuse. The ribbons tied to each fence represent the voices of those who wish to speak out in support and defence of those affected by abuse. “We want all survivors and victims of abuse to know that we believe you, we […]
Digital Evidence when reporting sexual offences
You may have seen in the media reports about the introduction of the consent forms relating to digital evidence. This issue was discussed in the last National Police Chief Council’s Rape Working Group, and a further stakeholder meeting is being arranged in June, to which The Survivors Trust has been invited. For more information about […]
The River of Recovery: reflections from a gathering of survivors
‘There is no beginning and there is no end’ (Troggs, Love is All Around Me, 1967)…. Written by Kate Melvin with Concetta Perot Earlier in the summer, a group of survivors attended an all-day meeting, where they explored the journey of recovery through their own and others’ experiences. Survivors were asked to describe their individual […]
5 inspiring reasons to read and use our Survivors Charter
On 31st October 2018 we attended a national research event at St.Thomas’ Hospital in London, hosted by King’s College and the London Havens, to launch our pilot publication Turning Pain into Power: A Charter for Organisations Engaging Abuse Survivors in Projects, Research and Service Development. Here are 5 reasons why we hope to inspire everyone […]
The Ache of International Women’s Day
I rejoice at the progress made for women (and for men, for if we liberate women we liberate us all) in the last 100 years. I am glad International Women’s Day exists to celebrate each shift away from gender-based hurt, harm and injustice and towards equality, mutual respect and love. But the truth for […]
From Pain to Power – untapping the experience of people affected by abuse to bring positive change
Survivors’ Voices is a small, national organisation, run with few financial resources but with a deep well of strong relational connections among our growing membership. Some of these connections go back as far as the time we began by running self-help groups at an arts and justice festival 17 years ago. Over the years, […]
