Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) are taking courses in stand-up comedy to help them deal with trauma in the first such scheme in the UK.
Comedian Angie Belcher was the first to get a stand-up comedy prescribed by the NHS through her project. Introduction comedyI ran a two-day program in Bristol last week.
“Comedy is often tragedy and time, and these have already gone through extensive counseling, are recovering, and are now trying to do something different to keep you busy,” Belcher said.
“When you say something is funny, it doesn't mean it's not sad or serious,” she said. Stand-up comedy becomes part of recovery as it empowers the victims by laughing at the oppressor. So instead of saying, “Oh, that was awful,” they can say: “What do you know? The guy who raped me stabbed me. Tell me why.” And it's funny. ”
There is an estimated 11 million CSA survivors in the UK. A recent report by the Child Protection Practice Review Panel shows that at least one in ten people are sexually abused before the age of 16.
CSA can lead to problems in later years, such as addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorder, long-term clinical psychologic diagnosis, and suicide.
Belcher used comedy to address issues around CSA previously. She completed twice at the annual conference Green Housea charity funded by the Ministry of Home Affairs that provides expert support to CSA survivors.
It was at that event that the young people at the conference helped write the stand-up comedy for the Greenhouse CSA Festival and she began teaching survivors.
“We're looking forward to seeing you in the process of exploring the world,” said Gemma Halliwell, Greenhouse CEO. “Survivors need to find ways to embrace pain with hope, positivity and healing. That's where comedy helps. It's really important to help survivors find their voice in their own voice.
Commissioned Charity South Mead Project Active recovery Scheme in Bristol, 12 survivors used their trauma as the starting block to write comedy on Belcher's course. She wrote jokes to young people, discovering their “comedy persona” and teaching them to use “inner comedians” in their daily lives.
Ryan Moore learned to stand up with Belcher through Greenhouse and aggressive recovery. “The pills my doctor gave me don't feel as good as I was when I went on stage and talked about all the difficult things that have happened in my life,” he said.
Moore said, “There's absolutely nothing interesting about CSA,” but he felt it was necessary to talk about it as part of his actions so that he could understand the context of his “wild” life.
“I'm not making one joke about abuse, but it's my crazy adult context and it's very interesting,” he said. “When I'm so transparent and honest with the audience, I build a relationship of trust. It's so therapeutic that when I get off stage, I'm bustling next week and I'm far more proud of myself than if I had to take my medicine to survive.”
Director of Jemima Foxtrot Kindreds CreativeRunning creative workshops for CSA survivors, she said turning trauma into a stand-up comedy is a “high-risk strategy,” but she has reaped “huge rewards” for her.
“When the abuse happened to me, I barely could speak. When I told my mother, I had to write it down,” she said. “But now, I've worked on it repeatedly at my stage show so I've finally got to a place where I can speak very openly.”
Artistic Director Viv Gordon Previous Survivora creative arts organization that works to increase the visibility of adult CSA survivors, said, “Humor is a truly great survival strategy for our community.”
She added: “Personally, it's always a way to survive, a pain I can't stand, and it's the challenges and difficulties of having experiences that I couldn't speak.”
James McKinnon of Charity Survivors UK The course was also welcome. “It's not a one-size-fits-all approach, but comedy can provide a powerful sense of agency and release and a different perspective on difficult experiences,” he said.
