Raise funds for emergency therapy for rape survivor

Trigger warning: this post briefly mentions sexual violence. It does not go into detail or describe the violence in depth.

Hi, I'm Petra and I'm fundraising on behalf of a close friend who's in a really difficult situation and needs your help to recover from her complex and repeated experiences of sexual violence. She has been through tremendous suffering and loss, and she has done so much to support others in similar positions. She really needs your support now.

What's happened?

My friend has a complex history of surviving sexual violence, and like many survivors she also lives with chronic fatigue and ME.

She has recently been notified that one of the men who assaulted her has unexpectedly died. This news has come as a tremendous shock and it has thrown her into mental health crisis at a time when she has very little energy or resource to deal with it.

What does she need?

She needs financial support to fund regular specialist therapy between now and August 2025. She’s already on the waiting list for free therapy from the Survivors Network, but the wait is long and she won’t reach the top of the list until at least summer this year.

My friend is working part time in a children’s charity when she is well enough, but she is not in a position to work or pay for therapy at this moment, and she’s frightened that without it, she may quickly reach crisis point. Her ME is deteriorating and so is her mental health. She needs your help to recover, keep her job and avoid losing her home.

What will my donation pay for?

Your donation will pay for weekly therapy sessions from a specialist sexual violence counsellor at £55 per session between January and August 2025, or up to 32 weeks of therapy.

Each session costs £55. Once we have raised £110, my friend will book her first 2 weeks of therapy. At £220, she will book the next 2 weeks, and so on, up to 32 weeks.

If she reaches the top of the free therapy waiting list before August, or if we exceed our fundraising target, any funds left over will be donated directly to the Survivors Network.

How can I help?

Please help my friend by donating any amount, however tiny, and by sharing this fundraiser as widely and as often as possible. All donations count and are appreciated more than you can possibly know.

Please use your networks to share this as widely as possible and keep sharing - particularly on Fridays, paydays, and when we are nearing an internal target - £220, £440, £660, £1100, and £1800.

We may need to think of events or donations to help support this fundraiser. If you can raise money in any way - by performing, running, making and donating something - please get in touch with me in the comments below.

Thank you. In trust and solidarity with all survivors, and towards an end to sexual violence for all of us,

Petra