CIS’ters

CIS’ters

CIS’ters is a small charity that was set up in September 1995 for females age 18+ who as children had been sexually abused by a member of their immediate or extended family. Initially only for females within Eastleigh the selfhelp group was quickly approached by individuals from outside of that area and then further and further away. This was primarily because (a) there were so few groups of this description and (b) nothing that focused on the topic as it related to abuse within a family environment.

Currently, at any one time, CIS’ters provides emotional support to 500+ Members across England and Wales, of which 51% are residents in Hampshire. Others may have never lived in Hampshire, or they might have moved away from Hampshire at some point after becoming a Member.

The name CIS’ters was created in 1995 and represented at that time Childhood Incest Survivors (CIS) and the siblings that were abused within the same family (‘ters). Not long after we were set up we extended the invitation to become a Member (which is free) to non-incest as this then covered non-blood relatives.

We are not a therapy group, nor do we offer counselling. We are, and remain, a peer led and peer support group, offering emotional support via email, phone and also face to face meetings where this is possible and practicable.

Funding remains a major issue for our small charity. Focus from the public remains, rightly, on the plight and needs of child victims. However, the majority of child victims do not disclose and may never do so, but those that do in adulthood need help from society too. Charities like ours remain unspoken about, unseen, just as the topic of sexual abuse is one that is seen as being committed by outsiders, rather than those who are part of the family environment.

In addition to providing confidential emotional support to our Members, we continue to do what we can to raise the issue of familial sexual abuse, and the impact it can have into adulthood. For those seeking emotional support, we need funding to remain in existence. Can you help us?

Please take time to look at our website and particularly these pages:

https://www.cisters.org.uk/the-impact/ and https://www.cisters. org.uk/podcastsnewsletterssurvivors-voices/

Thank you, 

Gillian,

(Founder of CIS’ters)