Surrey child sexual abuse survivor on a mission to improve awareness of the crime in schools
The Flying Child project leads conversations about child sexual abuse through survivor-led training, campaigning and support
We're hearing from a Surrey survivor of child sexual abuse who's on a mission to teach others how to support people who've experienced this type of trauma.
Sophie Olson founded the non-profit The Flying Child - which works towards leading conversations about child sexual abuse through survivor-led training, campaigning and support.
As part of the project, Sophie goes into Surrey and Hampshire schools, teaching the teachers how to spot the signs, how to talk to vulnerable children as well as breaking the stigma surrounding talking about this type of abuse.
Sophie Olson tells us more about the training she provides:
"We bring this lived experienced voice right into the heart of education.
"We're not working with children and young people but teaching and non-teaching staff and we provide context to the training they're already receiving.
"We open discussion about child sexual abuse, introduce practice scenarios based on real stories and we allow staff to practice using their professional skills and judgement effectively in what is a very complex and challenging area."
Sophie Olson tells us what motivates her:
"I was a child who was missed at school. I contacted an old teacher of mine and asked him if there was anything he could recall about me or my family - had anything given him cause for concern? Were there any red flags?
"He admitted that he remembered me as troubled, nervous and with a cowering demeanour and also said to me that he did nothing for fear of how he'd be perceived by others if he asked probing questions.
"So he didn't ask any questions at all, he turned away from my signs of distress and this became a pattern in my life.
"Like many survivors, life has not been very easy for me and this stems in part from the misunderstanding of how to best support me.
"So I'm passionate about trying to highlight this issue for children to be recognised as young as they possibly can, to prevent that misunderstanding and that child perhaps being set on a path that come become more traumatising and cause them even further harm."
Sophie has written a book about her experiences with her therapist called The Flying Child—Finding a Purposeful Life After Child Sexual Abuse Through Compassionate and Creative Therapy—A Cautionary Fairy-tale for Adults.
It can be pre-ordered through following these links to purchase on Waterstones or Amazon.
You can access The Flying Child Website here.