A former Marlow resident is using two major campaigns to raise awareness of child sexual abuse, support survivors and help protect youngsters.
Oxfordshire resident Emma-Jane Taylor is a survivor of child sexual abuse herself and is using her experiences to support survivors and help protect youngsters.
Emma-Jane created the NotMyShame campaign in 2023, and on May 1 this year, survivors of child sexual abuse and their supporters from around the world joined together in solidarity and to raise awareness.
The day featured a host of events around the world including coffee mornings, both in-person in the UK and virtually, and a Global Rock Drop Day which saw people paint rocks with the hashtag #NotMyShame and place them around the world.
Emma-Jane was also interviewed on radio shows, including James Freeman’s show on TNT Live and on former Capital Radio presenter Neil Long’s The Midday Show where she was joined by actors Charlie Lawson, Nadia Jamil, Sera Cracroft and Stuart Anthony and a one-minute was observed at the beginning.
A concert also took place in Florida and the Town Hall in Henley-on-Thames was lit up white to support the campaign.
As part of the campaign, people also wore white ribbons in support of those who have experienced child sexual abuse.
Emma-Jane, a former Newlands Girls’ School pupil, said: “We’re going to try and get an official awareness day 1st May every year to mark the day to acknowledge this conversation.
“Because for too long it’s been something that no one wants to talk about, let’s just hope it keeps going away, but it’s not. It’s getting worse for so many people.”
As part of her work, Emma-Jane has also created and founded Project 90-10 in recent years to raise awareness, educate and protect youngsters from child sexual abuse.
The charity uses PACK educational programmes (protection, awareness, communication and knowledge) to support youngsters by educating them and arming them with tools and knowledge to protect their lives and futures.
The ‘90-10’ refers to the statistic that on average 90 per cent of children being abused are being abused by someone they know, and while it is important to highlight the statistic that 10 per cent of perpetrators are strangers, the 90 per cent statistic requires ‘critical and urgent’ focus to tackle child sexual abuse, the charity’s website explains.
A soft launch event was organised for the charity by its board of trustees at The Angel Bar in Caversham on Saturday, May 4.
The evening of drinks and canapes was attended by about 30 people, including the Henley-on-Thames town Mayor Kellie Hinton and featured live music and speakers, including Emma-Jane and board member Jamie Dewson.
Emma-Jane said the support and feedback she has received following the two events has been phenomenal.
“I think it’s really important to have these conversations to turn up the volume to help people see the reality of it. We want to reach survivors. safeguarding teams, educational leads, organisations.
“We need the political world to listen more because that will be the change the conversation needs and then it will help to protect children.”
For more information about the NotMyShame campaign visit: https://www.notmyshame.global/ and to find out more about Project 90-10 visit: https://www.project9010.com/