Catriona Morton talks to fellow survivors of sexual assault and abuse about what happened to them and how they cope now. After experiencing sexual abuse and assault herself, Catriona felt like she was abandoned by society, “stranded in an ocean,” she says, "with only a life raft and no rescue in sight.” So she created her own life raft with a blog called Life Continues After, where anyone affected by sexual trauma can share their stories and advice in the hope that others will find something useful. Or even just some comfort in knowing they’re not alone.
This podcast continues Catriona’s mission. Each person’s story will be split into two parts - and two separate episodes in the podcast feed. In the first part – called ‘Then’ – survivors will tell Catriona as much or as a little as they want about what happened to them. If listeners feel this part of their story might be too triggering and distressing, they can skip to the second part – called ‘Now’ – where survivors will share the practical steps, resources and methods they follow.
If you've been affected by sexual abuse or violence, you can find details of organisations in the UK who offer help and support at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Catriona Morton talks to fellow survivors of sexual assault and abuse about what happened to them and how they cope now. After experiencing sexual abuse and assault herself, Catriona felt like she was abandoned by society, “stranded in an ocean,” she says, "with only a life raft and no rescue in sight.” So she created her own life raft with a blog called Life Continues After, where anyone affected by sexual trauma can share their stories and advice in the hope that others will find something useful. Or even just some comfort in knowing they’re not alone.
This podcast continues Catriona’s mission. Each person’s story will be split into two parts - and two separate episodes in the podcast feed. In the first part – called ‘Then’ – survivors will tell Catriona as much or as a little as they want about what happened to them. If listeners feel this part of their story might be too triggering and distressing, they can skip to the second part – called ‘Now’ – where survivors will share the practical steps, resources and methods they follow.
If you've been affected by sexual abuse or violence, you can find details of organisations in the UK who offer help and support at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Catriona talks to fellow survivor Sabah Kaiser about how it felt to be abused as a child and have no one believe her. Sabah grew up in a British-Muslim household. Her parents were originally from Pakistan, but her father died when she was only two years old. Sabah was abused from the age of seven, and despite trying to tell a number of adults around her, she says no one believed her – including her own mother. The abuse Sabah experienced started when she was very young and it’s a difficult conversation to hear. So if you want to skip straight to part 2, the story of how she has learned to live after her experience is really beautiful. You can go back to the feed now to hear that part. If you've been affected by child sexual abuse or violence, you can find details of organisations in the UK who offer help and support at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Anybody who wants to share their experience of child sexual abuse can do so at the Truth Project, which is part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Just go to www.truthproject.org.uk Presented by Catriona Morton, After is a 10-part series, featuring discussions between survivors of sexual abuse and assault about what happened to them and how they cope now. Produced by Danielle Stephens. The Executive Producers are Nick Minter and Clare Chadburn. It is a Wisebuddah production for BBC Sounds.