When I was thirteen years old, I had a traumatic experience, which kicked me out of my body. It actually kicked me out for many years too years to get back in. I was left feeling like an empty shell as if I was a house that I was renting but had no furniture in it. My journey has always been about getting back into my body and remembering all my memories from the night that I was gang raped by two men. When my eldest daughter turned thirteen, all of my memories came flooding back and at first I […]
Read More
A time for learning
What did you learn last week? I don’t know about you but my emotions were all over the place! I realised that I had grown very used to having the house and my office to myself and liked my own company. However, two daughters who flew our nest have returned and my husband is now home with me in lockdown and our home is busy and noisy again. I’ve recognised that at times I was a little irritable and short tempered with them and myself, but looking back I also realised I had “Zoom Fatigue!” I attended a network meeting, […]
Read More
Ridiculing rape survivors like Duffy only silences others
It didn’t take long. Just hours after Duffy published an Instagram post revealing that she had been drugged, raped and held captive for several days, people were responding with jokes, even using her own song lyrics to make light of what had happened. One media outlet referred to her post as a ‘tale’, as though she was telling a little story, not revealing huge, personal trauma. Another referred to her ordeal as an ‘alleged’ experience rather than the truth. It is never, ever funny to joke about rape or sexual violence. It exposes a lack of sympathy and understanding from […]
Read More