As my blogs evidence, I’ve lost many, if not all my family and friends through my husbands offending. An offence I did not commit. An offence I do not condone.
The shining light in all of this has been the community I have become part of. Ostracised, judged and shamed women, coming together to support eachother.
A sense of pride, protection and comradery I never dreamt I could feel, having come from a judgemental and competitive family of 5 Sisters.
I’ve been part of a few WhatsApp groups for a few years now. I also speak to women one to one on a regular basis. We get together on zooms and meet up when we can. Dotted around the UK but United in our experience.
Over the past few months, I have spotted on the Twitter community where I share my blog, another judged and isolated community.
Working as a support worker in mental health for many years, I see isolation as the biggest contributing factor to poor mental health.
So I decided to do something about it. I wanted to unite people. I wanted to create a safe space for people to get together. Not to talk about their experience as such, as that is being done, in various ways by professionals.
What we could offer eachother, is friendship. A way of escaping our reality in a way.
Last week I held 2 induction sessions which went unbelievably well.
I tried to explain that although we are united by our mutual experiences, trauma and aftermath of a loved ones offending, it also, isn’t really about that.
It’s about us.
Many of us have been labelled as the wife of, the mother of, the sister of a sex offender.
We are much more than that.
We are whole people. We have a lot to offer the world. We have skills, hobbies, talents and interests way beyond a crime we did not commit.
The name of the group is;
I love Rainbows. They signify hope, the light at the end of a storm. They signify colour, diversity, inclusion. The name Rainbowgirl I adopted way back when I first joined one of the forums and have used in this world ever since.
I want to thank the ladies that trusted me enough to contact me via email and join us on zoom. I am humbled at the trust you have put in me.
I also want to thank you for your commitment and enthusiasm you have shown already. Together we come up with lots of fun ideas for future zoom sessions from bingo, to Zumba, to painting. The list goes on.
I look forward to getting to know you all and to having some fun together.
If you or someone you know would like to chat about joining our group please email me at rainbowgirl82blog@gmail.com
After the knock 