Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Metal Shock Finland‘s very valuable associates at the English charity(Registered Charity No. 1151556) RACPA UK (Rock Against Child Pornography) have now been doing their amazing work for the past 8 years. The volunteers have posted their thoughts about their work during this time:

8 Years….and counting

When RACPA was founded eight years ago it was in response to finding out just how little was being done for victims of childhood abuse…abuse of all kinds including sexual…although it seemed to us that while people had deep sympathy for victims of physical, emotional and psychological abuse…no-one wanted to hear about…talk about…or think about the victims of sexual abuse…it was as if a wall existed that had victims on one side and everyone else on the other…and there was no way of breaching that wall…and the silence of the victims screamed at us louder than any words could ever have done.

We had a few dreams…a few plans…but what we had most of was passion…and it has been that passion that has kept us going for the last eight years…that and the amazing support we have received from everyone…the people who have been with us from pretty much the very beginning of our My Space days…the people who join us every day…that share our posts…that stand with us in support of the victims…but this is probably the stuff that you all know about…the gigs that have been held up and down the country…a great way to reach people…to get the message out…and for the victims to approach us without marking themselves in any way…the friends we have made…the bands who play for us…the people who have joined the team and work alongside us…and of course..The L’arpies 😀 … originally envisioned as a mascot for RACPA UK … and now approaching the 1000 mark! They are all over the world…carrying our message out…raising awareness…and once again giving victims a safe and completely anonymous way of contacting us…a huge success on every level !!

These are the things that you can all see…that and our long dreamt of Info Bus of course 😀 …out on the road taking the word out to even more people…paid for by the hard work sweat and sheer perseverance of many people…kitted out by great friends…signed by even more…a huge and wonderful visible mark of our work…our passion…our commitment…and that of our friends and supporters as well…you may own some of our merchandise :)…T shirts, wristbands, Fl’obbles and Fl’upps :)…and by the way..watch this space as more merchandise will be being added very soon ;)…but there is so much more to what we do…the work that goes on behind the scenes..the work with the victims…and their families…

Over the last eight years we have lost count of the amount of people who have contacted us just the once…to say *This happened to me…there was no-one to listen…no-one believed me* or * I have never been able to tell anyone before…but this is what happened to me…thank you for giving me somewhere safe to come to* ….there have simply been too many of them to keep count…and that is a source of great pride to us…and has also humbled us greatly…being given that much trust is a huge thing…and a responsibility we take very seriously…every single member of the team treats confidentiality with the respect it deserves!

What we can measure with some accuracy are the amount of people we have worked with for a continuous period…and over the last eight years we have:

Offered advice on how to make an initial complaint to the Police about the abuse of a child to 84 parents and supported them through the process right up to court appearance.

Supported 57 grandparents who have discovered the abuse of their grandchildren and helped them work through their own pain.

Supported 39 young people through the disclosure process to a parent.

Counselled 18 young people who were victims of grooming.

Offered advice to 35 people on how to use Sarahs Law.

Supported and counselled 173 individuals who were victims of child pornography, sexual abuse by a family friend or family member, or sexually abused by a stranger.

This may not seem a huge amount…but we are a small team of volunteers…we have two professionally qualified therapists…and as you know we are ALL volunteers…to us…being able to reach out to ONE single person and let them know they are not alone is a huge achievement…empowering people to talk on an open thread about their own experiences…being given the level of trust that it takes…these are enormous things to us…worth more than anything else at all.

Now…in this time of awareness of the horrors of child sexual abuse being at an all time high…we are moving our focus onto prevention…educating children and young people of the safe use of the technology that is part of their everyday lives…giving them the tools to be able to protect themselves against the manipulations of predators…and the confidence to speak out if the worst happens.

We have also produced a series of informational flyers covering subjects such as Sexting…Grooming…Parental Filters…and real world safety…all designed to give a basic foundation on the information needed by parents and carers. We are also beginning work on a series of flyers aimed directly at young people…to inform…educate…and empower!!

So…that’s a little of the background of the last eight years…there is SO much more of course but maybe in another eight years or so ;)…this is what we have done…what we still do…and what we will continue to do for as long as we are able…thank you all for taking this journey with us…for standing alongside us…and for believing in us…who could possibly ask for more!

For more information about RACPA UK visit this location.

If you would like to order a handmade knitted character or L’arpie (Little ‘Appy Rock People) to your specifications, find out more here.

A very Happy Birthday and congratulations for all the tireless work the RACPA UK team do, from all the team at Metal Shock Finland.