A poem....

For those who've been groomed and will understand, and for those who care enough to try and 'get' what the rabbit hole of grooming feels like....

Arrest him for the loss of skin I tore off,

trying to get myself clean

Arrest him the theft of more than one dream

Arrest him for the loss of my kids to their dad

Arrest him for the theft of the future I had.

Arrest him for the cost of the pills that I take

And the stolen dates that I’ll no longer make

Arrest him for the theft of the life I once knew

Arrest him for the lies we all believed true.

It’s clear you won’t act on the actions he takes

For the lives that he ruins or hearts that he breaks

For the trouble he wreaks wherever he goes

How many lies? Only he knows.

How many times should we ‘get over it’?

How my times do we live the same shit?

It’s clear nothing matters but a man’s ‘good name’

That they’ll call us all liars and say we’re insane.

Accuse US of harassment, of stalking and more

Call us by names – slut, slapper and whore

Accuse us of lying, revenge, or a fuss

Of jumping upon the 'gold-digging' bus.

You don’t care ‘bout the hurt, or the chaos he left

But since ‘things’ are what matters,

ARREST HIM FOR THEFT!!

Please note that I used 'he/him' in this poem simply based on the statistics that we currently have.

I fully acknowledge that women groom as well, and that some victims are male. I would like more men to step forward to shine a light on grooming and offer a fuller picture.

If you have been groomed, whatever your sex, gender, sexuality, colour, religion - it affects us all - you can answer a totally anonymous research questionnaire here: Adult grooming research