CIS'ters' podcast- Hidden Harm

CIS’ters provides emotional support for females, age 18+ who, as female children, were sexually abused within a family environment. Raising funds, we find, is often difficult as many members of the public feel empathy towards child victims but this doesn’t always extend to adult survivors. In 2019 we were chosen by https://www.bizpedia.com/ to be their 2020 charity and the pandemic made that impossible. In 2022 they unquestionably honoured their promise to us and during a one day event they held in July 2022, managed to raise an unbelievable £34k for us. Even they were shocked at the amount.  Listen to this podcast to find out more, and how we are using their amazing gift.  
www.cisters.org.uk 

CIS'ters provides emotional support for females age 18+ who, as female children, were sexually abused within a family environment.
Within this podcast we explore the topic around the sensitivity needed, in raising public awareness of Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence. We discuss the importance of this topic and how it has changed over the years.  
We take part in the National Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness WEEK – which in 2023 is 6th – 12th February. To find out more about this important campaign, please click on the link below. – 
https://sexualabuseandsexualviolenceawarenessweek.org       
www.cisters.org.uk we also deliver training for professionals.

CIS'ters provides emotional support for females age 18+ who, as female children, were sexually abused within a family environment.

Within this podcast we explore the topic of self-help materials, such as journals, which many adult survivors use as part of their ongoing journey and a reminder to be mindful of issues such as confidentiality.

Information is on our website www.cisters.org.uk we also deliver training for professionals.

Introducing Kate Davies CBE talking about the importance of NHS England to victims or survivors of sexual assault and abuse. Podcast covers specific prevention and response strategy including input from CIS’ters. Featuring CIS’ters trustees Eileen and Gillian. For more information about NHSE go to https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/strategic-direction-for-sexual-assault-and-abuse-services/

Within CIS'ters, as survivors, we know that many victim/survivors of sexual crimes experience heightened fear and anxiety when accessing midwifery services. In this podcast Kathryn Gutteridge, a past president of the Royal College of Midwives, shares with us how we can help midwives to help us as victims of sexual abuse accessing services and also, importantly, how her own personal insights have assisted in her practice as a midwife and also raising awareness.
For further information please see: https://cisters.org.uk/the-impact/pregnancy-birth-gynaecological-and-obstetric-issues/

When you are finding life heavy going, it can be a good idea to put together a play list of uplifting music. 

In years past, this may have been on a CD. But all sorts of technology can be brought in here, from smart speakers to phones, spotify through to amazon music.

Everyone has different tastes in music, but for this sort of of activity you need to find music that has a purposeful beat and meaningful words. 

This episode introduces the listener to the concept of warrior music to help survivors of sexual abuse, but also anyone who has experienced trauma. 

Loss is a concept explored with the different perspective of the survivor of sexual abuse in mind.

Clever insight into the experiences of loss, the differing circumstances and ways forward are discussed. 

If you would like to know more, please see our website: www.cisters.org.uk

The Window of Tolerance is a idea developed by Dan Siegal. He suggested we all have 3 key states. 

There is the optimum layer, where you are able to exert self control and everything is manageable. This is the like the middle layer of a sandwich. 

The top of the sandwich is where you are very hyped up, buzzing, out of control. The lower layer is where you feel zoned out, withdrawn maybe numb.

If you have a large optimum layer you cope better in life and do not easily zoom into the over stimulated layer or fall through into the zoned out layer. 

This podcast explains the WOT in detail and ways of increasing your optimum layer.

Episode 28 – Adverse Childhood Experiences

This podcast explores the issue of ACEs and how important it is to build resilience in children and adult survivors.  Plus signpost https://cisters.org.uk/the-impact/adverse-childhood-experiences-ace/ - but our key message is that no one should be stigmatised by the number of ACEs they have experienced as a child. The focus is on how resilient individuals are, or can be helped to be.  Some adult survivors are incredibly resilient and others less so – understanding how to improve resilience is the focus, as children and as adults. Our next podcast is on something called The Window Of Tolerance and these two episodes are linked.

In this podcast we reflect on the difference between recovery and resilience, the latter being a more tangible target. The topic includes aspects of trauma and the impact on emotional well-being including suicidal thoughts and also on physical well-ness.  The masks that many victim/survivors wear can create barriers to receiving help, not least because resilience as a presentation can be misleading.  If you are in a dark place emotionally and not sure that you can continue please contact either the Samaritans and/or your GP. You are not alone.

This podcast talks about ISVA's.

Who they are, what they do and how to find one.

If you have a situation involving recent or non recent sexual assault or longer term abuse, contacting an ISVA allows survivors to make informed choices about whether or not to report and what future steps to consider, whatever their decision. 

To find out further information on contact details for ISVA's please see this link from the survivors trust.

This podcast highlights a recent report issued by the Independent Inquiry into CSA into how abuse has been covered up within faith communities. This report is just one of many issued by the Inquiry (www.iicsa.org.uk) which is due to finish in 2022.  Part of the Inquiry is THE TRUTH PROJECT which is where victim/survivors can provide a verbal or written account of their experience of sexual abuse during childhood, including how and where an intervention could have taken place, or if it did why it failed.  The Truth Project is closing on 31st October 2021, so time is running out for anyone who wishes to choose this route to disclose what happened to them.

The public fail to appreciate that there is no legislation that requires institutions to report their suspicions or knowledge of CSA. If there had been mandatory reporting, then all of the organisations that failed to seek appropriate help for children and to report the offender within their institution, would have committed a crime by not reporting it.

This means that IICSA can only be critical of their failings and make recommendations. We are hopeful that one of the final recommendations by IICSA in 2022 will be the introduction of Mandatory Reporting. For more info on this specific topic look at https://mandatenow.org.uk/

In this episode we seek to explore the increasing reality that not all offenders are male – that there are female abusers too. A topic that is often overlooked as it is counter to the belief that females are the nurturers.

 We hope that this podcast will raise public awareness and that how individuals respond to such disclosures needs to be receptive and not create additional barriers.

In this episode we explore the physical health conditions that can arise from trauma during childhood. More information on this link can be found on our website under the heading of ACEs.

 www.cisters.org.uk

We hope that this podcast will help highlight the link between the development of some physical health conditions in many victim/survivors – and the early trauma they experienced.

In this episode we explore the impact of the way in which others might discuss sexual abuse and the impact that this can have on a victim/survivor.  Members of the public/work colleagues/others need to be more aware that inappropriate conversations, such as workplace banter, can create barriers to disclosure or appear to condone such abuse.

We hope that this podcast will help raise awareness that it is not ok to make jokes about sexual abuse; and that this can also give abusers the mistaken belief that such abusive behaviour is acceptable – when it isn’t.

In this episode we explore what it is like to go into counselling, as an adult survivor of sexual abuse during childhood.  This approach can help many individuals to explore painful aspects linked to their early life experiences, and the impact it has had on them as adults.  More often than not the successful outcome of therapy can depend on it being the right time (for the client), the right model of therapy being used, the right therapist (in that the ability to form a therapeutic relationship is key) and the final element is where to access therapy.

CIS'ters signposts to services in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

 We hope that you find this podcast helpful in choosing if this is the right time, and how to access therapy.

Producing podcasts has been a new venture for CIS’ters and in this episode Gillian reflects on recent months, and what else is happening within CIS’ters.

If you would like to know more about CIS’ters and the peer work we undertake, please visit our website www.cisters.org.uk

Introducing Fay Maxsted, the CEO of The Survivors Trust.

Learning about what the trust does, how it came to be and the continuing work of the trust in supporting survivors.

In this episode we explore some of the complex issues and feelings that can arise when an abuser dies or is dying. As survivors all of our experiences as children are unique. This, and the family we grew up in, affect how we will feel and behave when an abuser is dying or has died. In addition, issues include not only the abuser, but other adults within the family and the extended family who might have known or suspected but failed to adequately protect the child (emotionally or physically.)

Domestic Abuse

For those sexually abused as children there is a heightened risk of re-victimisation as adults. This podcast explores the topic of Domestic Abuse and the ways in which this can occur, including coercive behaviours. Often victims of domestic abuse do not recognise the situation for what it is until much later and the abuser will use techniques such as gas-lighting to further confuse the victim.  

Further information can be found on our website www.cisters.org.uk