#rapecrisis

My great friend Sarah is undertaking a journey of a lifetime to raise money for

R.C.T.N

Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland.

She's planning a cycle tour from Canada down to Mexico.

I promised Sarah that I would help by spreading the word in the hope that some of you might be able to pop a few pounds/dollars in her coffers.

As you know, I was a keen cycle racer in my youth and can only admire Sarahs tenacity.

Sarah is a keen spoon carver, I sat with her some years ago to get her on the right track and we've been friends ever since.

I'm a bike mechanic who loves carving spoons, climbing, circus skills, and of course, cycling. I also volunteer at Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland (RCTN), a charity that blows my mind with the amazing work they do and how many people they support.

I'm going to cycle from Canada to Mexico to raise £5000 for RCTN. That's over 3000 km in a month! I've never cycled that far before, so it's going to be a challenge. I'll be sharing my journey as I go, from bike build, training and kit selection, to what's happening as I ride.

I need your support in two ways:

1) Donations, anything you can give is amazing and makes a massive difference

2) Social media shares. Please chat about what I'm doing, like and share my FB page or Instagram and twitter, the more people know what I'm doing, the more likely we will meet the target

All money raised will go direct to RCTN: don't worry, you're not paying for my trip!

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sarah-carrie2

Www.facebook.com/sacarrie

I doubt many people know this about me but with the current wave of people all over the world breaking the silence on their abuse I feel truly inspired and supported in telling my story. I used to think that rape and sexual assault was something that a stranger did to you, they broke into your home or they cornered you in an ally and that it is violent, and you are supposed to kick and scream. My assault was not like this, a person I trusted told me what I was going to do and didn’t care about my opinion on what I wanted. My verbal consent was forced and manipulated out of me, robbing me of my voice in what should always be a free and open exchange. This person told me who I was and dictated to me my own worth, and in so doing, stole from me my sexual power and enjoyment as well as peace and silence in my own brain. It still hurts, it hurts that I was victimised and traumatised, and I hurts that, even now many years later I still struggle. But what I want to emphasise in this story is the overwhelming support I have received, from beautiful people, trained professionals and my wonderful friends and family alike. And also I want to share the wisdom I have gained, even if I had to learn it through pain and heartbreak. The wisdom that no one can dictate your own worth to you, no one can tell you who you are or tell you that you don’t own parts of yourself, like your power, pleasure and happiness. And if one person reads this and finds comfort, solidarity and love in what I have said then I did the right thing. And please, if you are in pain don’t suffer in silence, tell someone, get help, you don’t deserve to feel alone and ashamed, organisations like Rape crisis and the Youth Enquiry Service truly are saviours so please reach out, be brave.

And FYI, I did start taekwondo, I did compete at a national level and when they held up my hand to declare my gold medal victory with tears streaming down my face, my only thought was: “Fuck. You!”

FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2017

We went by bus to see an art exhibition to raise funds for the rape crisis South London at the Anise Gallery in Bermondsey.

DJW

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