Write to be Heard is a collective of writers who have experienced coercive control and/or post-separation abuse and who have been supported by Mums In Need. Unable to speak out about the injustices we have endured for fear of reprisal, we are working to share our stories anonymously in the hope of raising awareness of these issues whilst also to giving mothers a therapeutic outlet and a much-needed voice.
The funds we raise will enable us to pay a facilitator to deliver therapeutic writing workshops for clients of Mums In Need and will fund the production of an anthology of writing. The anthology will be sold to raise funds for Mums In Need - a charity that provides valuable support to hundreds of mothers who continue to experience coercive control and post-separation abuse once a relationship has broken down.
These women often experience personal, financial and systemic abuse as they are harassed and intimidated by perpetrators who withold financial resources and damage familial relationships. Frequently these perpertrators weaponise the family court system in an attempt to punish mothers, often endangering and damaging their children in the process.
Having attempted to escape abuse, mothers find themselves trapped in systems that often prioritise the father's right to contact over the mother (and children's) safety. These women experience huge trauma and, as there is an embargo on speaking out about family court cases, they can lack an outlet for expression, leaving them with the continual experience of being silenced and controlled.
Write to be Heard is a multi-purpose project which aims to:
1. Provide the current caseload of Mums In Need with a series of therapeutic writing workshops
2. Produce an anthology of (anonymised) writing from women who have experienced coercive control and post-separation abuse
3. Raise awareness of the issues of coervice control and post-separation abuse
4. Provide Mums In Need with an anthology of writing which can continue to be sold to raise money to support their work
The project will be managed by Write to be Heard - a collective of women who have experienced coercive control and post-separation abuse
We're aiming to raise £5000 to cover the running of the workshops and the printing and launching of the anthology.
The timescale for the project is as follows:
May-June 2025: Raise funds, recruit the workshop participants and put a callout contributions to the anthology
June-July 2025: Run the workshops
August 2025: Edit and produce the anthology
September 2025: Print and launch the anthology
People who donate will receive the following benefits:
- £15 will get you a copy of the book (including P & P)
- £20 will get you a copy of the book with your name printed inside (includes P & P)
- £25 will get you a copy of the book with your name in, plus a Mums In Need pen (includes P & P)
- £30 will get you a copy of the book with your name in it, plus a Mums In Need pen and a Write to be Heard notebook (includes P & P)
- £50 will get you a copy of the book with your name, plus a Mums In Need pen, a Write to be Heard notebook and free attendance at a special workshop run by a published author - date to be confirmed. (Includes P & P)
Please support this worthwhile cause.