Writing room
This writing room is for:
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adults who have been subjected to sexual violence in their childhood;
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parents or guardians whose child has been subjected to sexual violence;
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family members or friends whose loved one has been subjected to sexual violence in childhood; and
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any other adults who wish to share their experience related to sexual violence in childhood.
The writing room is a safe space for you to write and reflect on your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences as a survivor of childhood sexual violence, or as a parent or close one to a victim or survivor of childhood sexual violence. You can submit your writing to be read by Protect Children specialists, and you may choose whether you would like us to share your writing anonymously on our website to give support and hope to others in similar life situations.
In your writing, you can reflect on what has happened to you, your child, or a close one, how you are feeling at the moment, things that have helped you/your child recover, or what support and help you would have needed in the most difficult moments. You can also write your thoughts as a letter, for example a letter to yourself, to your child, to the perpetrator of the crime, or to someone else in the past or present. You can refer to yourself with a nickname and you don't have to worry about spelling, grammar, or the comprehensibility of your sentences.
Important!
The writing room is not a crisis service, and reports of sexual crimes are not accepted here. Suspected sexual crimes should be reported to your local police. If you are located in Finland, in an acute situation you can consult Seri support center experts.
The writing room is for you, and Protect Children specialists don't read the submissions every day. We do not reply to the submissions, answer any questions, or give any feedback on the texts.
If you need help or support for what you have experienced, please contact the health services in your area. If you are located in Finland, you can contact Suomen Delfins ry, or call MIELI ry crisis line at 09 2525 0111. In an acute emergency, you can also call the emergency number 112.
Why write about your thoughts, feelings, and experiences?
For you
Writing has been found to have a positive effect on mental health, in particular after traumatic experiences, as it can help you to compile a series of events that can be dealt with more concretely. The writing room is intended to support you in structuring your thoughts and feelings and thus support your recovery and/or your child's recovery.
For us
We want to continue to better understand the consequences of offences of sexual violence against children, the different paths to recovery, and how to improve support for victims and survivors. Your writing can help us to better understand the personal experiences of those who have dealt with childhood sexual violence.
For others
If you wish, we can publish your submission anonymously on our website to give support and hope to other victims and survivors of sexual crimes. (Note! Texts won't be published automatically. Some texts will be published, but only with the writer's permission.) It can be very comforting to read the accounts of others who have dealt with similar experiences.
