Platform 51

meet the women we work with

Rosie

If you intervene early enough you can change the course of a girl’s life. Rosie first came to us ten years ago when she was only 13. We caught up with her again to see how she was getting on.

All those years ago I was very timid. I could hardly speak. My home life had been dominated by sexual abuse and violence, it was normal to me.

My family, the people who were abusing me from aged six, said, “if you say anything social service will take you away”. My entire life had been built on lies! I’d been told that anyone in authority, like teachers and social workers, were to be afraid of. In actual fact these people are the one who could have helped me!

I couldn’t tell people what was wrong. I felt shame, guilt and anger; I thought it was my fault. I thought people would just see me as a disgusting dirty little child rather than a vulnerable young woman. As a child, you don’t know that if you are raped you are blameless.

“I was having counselling at YWCA (now Platform 51) and I saw they did courses too. That summer I learned that I could be confident; that I could respect my own body; that I could say no; and I could stand up and speak out about what happened! I can’t tell you what a massive thing this was.

I didn’t realise at the time how valuable what I was learning at YWCA was. Slowly, slowly I began to talk. It wasn’t until I found YWCA that I believed anybody cared about me. But they did and were the family that I didn’t have. Since then I’ve never really looked back. I don’t self-harm, I don’t starve myself and I don’t take medication at all anymore. Now I’ve reached the point when I can help myself. I found the confidence to say I can take control of my life. That was really important to my recovery because of what I’d been through as a child, none of which was my choice. So I started to take some of the power back myself.

I am training to be a support worker for the local Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre. I am ready to give something back. Now I feel like if I can speak up and help somebody else vocalise what they’ve been through, it could be huge for them too.

People should support Platform 51 because - oh my God - you give people their lives back! You literally do!

I needed the women-only space that I got at YWCA to undo my false beliefs that all men were bastards, that they were all abusive and out to hurt me, suppress me, ignore me. YWCA gave me the time to rebuild so now I can hold my head up, feel safe and speak out. I didn’t recognise at the time what a massive impact YWCA was going to have in my life.

And that is why I say to people please, please give as much money as you can to Platform 51 so they can continue their work because without it I wouldn’t be here. I’d be dead.

Please help us to help other women like Rosie.