We’re supporting our community to connect with who and what you need. We’re gonna feature local people needing some know-how to get them to the next level. Let’s look out for each other. Keep dropping in to see who can help you.
We’ll be talking to a new member of the community every week. This week we’re chatting with Bayleigh, a volunteer for the instagram account @hands_off20. If you wanna work with Bayleigh, or get involved with a project drop us a DM on @MotiveCV and we’ll connect you!
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
I volunteer for the instagram account @hands_off20. This account was brought off the page owner’s experience. It started off as a page where no one knowns who the owner is but people can share their stories and experiences through this page, it’s a platform for [sexual assault] survivors to share their stories. The goal is to turn the page into a non-profit organisation to help survivors to share their stories of sexual assault, rape and grooming so they know they’re not alone.
Mental health as well – survivors get PTSD, bipolar disorder etc from being sexually assaulted.
Pictured is Bayleigh, a volunteer for the instagram account @hands_off20.
What do you think could be done in Coventry to prevent sexual assault?
We need to change the Criminal Act Law to make survivors feel like their story is believed. Also, schools and colleges need to connect to their students more and also from when they’re younger and teach them what is right from wrong. There should be more classes and workshops on SexEducation (including consent). This helps because when children and adults are educated, if they get assaulted, they’ll be able to process it better and bring light to the matter.
How were you missed in 2020?
It wasn’t a very good year, I had loads of people that wanted to meet to help the instagram page but it was a crisis navigating this with the lockdowns. The lack of social interaction was also hard as my workplace went on a furlough. It was depressing doing the same thing everyday, but supporting hands off has helped me build confident relationships.
Do you think sexual assault would have reduced during lockdown, seeing as people weren’t out as much?
In actuality sexual assault cases increased a lot in the pandemic. A lot of people were trapped at home alone with their abusers. People in these situations were assaulted but couldn’t speak out. The founder of this page plans to expand and create pages for handsoff men, handsoff gay and handsoff children. NO MEANS NO and people need to understand this.
If you’re interested in what Bayleigh has spoken about, drop us a DM on @MotiveCV, or contact Lyfeproof UK to connect you.
Interviewer: Chidera
