Before joining Mulka Nisc photovoice research project, I had never previously considered gender differences, probably because I’m a tomboy at heart, and I have always struggled with the concept of feminism. However, all that changed for me during the first online meeting, which took place over a Teams meeting one evening in December 2023
The meeting brought together other women from all over Europe who had expressed an interest in taking part in Photovoice. We aimed to discuss the project and better understand what was expected of us. But it wasn’t long before the conversation changed direction as we all began to open up and share our own lived experiences. It sounds really cheesy, and it’s hard to explain, but I’d never felt closer to a group of women, many of whom had been strangers before that meeting.
A common thread throughout the meeting was that this was a group of self-empowered women who, at some point, had decided that enough was enough and that they were sick of being contortionists trying to meet everyone else support/care needs before their own. These women had all come to a point where they had decided that they had had enough of playing the victim and, instead of blaming everyone else for their situation, decided to take responsibility but, more importantly, take back some control of their lives. And as a direct result, they realised that there was more to them than being a mother or spouse and that we didn’t need a man to make us feel whole because we had learned that love was an inside job. We openly shared very similar lived experiences, such as
- How stigma and shame had prevented us from accessing support sooner.
- 95% of the women on the call had all experienced some form of domestic abuse and trauma as a result, and how, like me, they started out using drugs to self-medicate because of the abuse.
- The guilt we still carried for neglecting our children’s emotional needs during our addiction and how we all still felt a duty to repair and make up for the precious moments we missed out on.
- The challenges around juggling our recovery whilst trying to parent and learning to balance our emotional support needs as well as our kids.
- Then we touched on briefly about hormones and some of the challenges we experienced during perimenopause and menopause – something that requires a lot more research, especially for women who are in recovery from addiction – but that’s a whole other blog.
I surprised myself in that meeting, I couldn’t describe my emotions following that one team’s call. I was on a natural high for hours but couldn’t quite understand why. But after some self-reflection, the penny dropped.
Its usually me who is organising and facilitating groups, but this time had the privilege of being a participant. In that meeting I found myself sharing personal things about myself, usually only reserved for my closest confidants. That meeting served as another stark reminder that I wasn’t alone, I’d found a tribe of women who were all on the same page as me.
During the project, we occasionally met up to share our pictures and the stories behind them, and every picture and story resonated with every woman who read it. In March, as part of International Women’s Day, the women from Sheffield hosted an exhibition showcasing their images. The event was filled with women, and once again, the atmosphere was electric.
Helping to establish a women-only recovery support network had never been on my top ten list of to-dos at the beginning of 2024, but on September 25th, I found myself alongside a group of amazing women doing just that.
After the International womens day event the women wanted to establish something for women locally. Unfortunately, because of existing commitments, we didn’t have the capacity to establish a face-to-face support group. Plus, we also agreed that the support we have received went beyond a support group.
We wanted to ensure that all the opportunities gifted to us were available for other women. So, we came up with the idea of a monthly newsletter that would contain information about opportunities that could aid their recovery journey, help build their recovery capital. Whether that be new women’s groups, activities, training, or research opportunities. And that my friends was how SWIPE was born.
And if that wasn’t enough, in between all of this, I was invited to attend and give a presentation on behalf of the women about the research project at the UN in Vienna
But it didn’t stop there. After hearing that the Recovery Street Film Festival was looking for submissions, particularly from women, we were once again motivated to take action. We aimed to involve as many women as possible, either by participating in the filming or contributing to a photo montage, just as we had done with the original photovoice project.
Inspired and fired up, I spent one Sunday writing the poem, capturing our journey and also managed to secure some funding from 500 Together and from our sister recovery group at Rotherham Recovery Community a discounted price for filming from an amazing film maker Stu Turner, the CEO of Lensgo Media
We filmed in various locations in Sheffield and Rotherham, with women from Rotherham Recovery Community. But the star of the show was local actress called Gemma Windle who has lived experience of being an affected family member herself.
The Result
We got over 65 photo submissions from across the UK, including Barnsley, Ireland, Dagenham, South Shields, and Hemel Hempstead. Thanks to the World Federation Against Drugs Global Gender Committee, we also connected with women from Pakistan, the USA, and Argentina. And as with the Photovoice project, there was a story behind the picture.
Then on the 27th September at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, we got to see our finished film on the BIG screen, alongside fifteen equally moving films only to find out at the end that we had WON
Winning the Recovery Street Film festival was just the cherry on the cake for us, but also another reminder that you should ‘Never Underestimate a Woman in Recovery.’
I can say hand on my heart that none of us ladies could have ever anticipated how the events of 2024 would unfold, nor the fantastic doors of opportunities that were opened and gifted to us, just as a result of a group of like-minded women coming together for the Photovoice research project.
So, if you fancy joining mailing list of other empowered women who are on a similar journey of rediscovering themselves, the SWIPE right for rediscovering yourself and sign up
Love Fordy
AKA Unapologetic Writer
Remember – I don’t write for financial reward or gain. I want to help share my lived experience with others, hoping it helps. Plus I love to write, so if you fancy getting the occasional email (NO SPAM) with the most up-to-date blogs from yours truly, please feel free to subscribe at the bottom of the main page.
Oh, and if you liked this blog please share it.
