Attending First Meeting Network Meeting

[ILoveCrunchyAutumnLeaves]

I will shortly be attending my 1st meeting, which is a 2019 planning meeting.

Does anyone have suggestions on reading material that will help me prepare please?

I run a small support group for Survivors of Sexual Offences, my interests are the current & future issues of safeguarding in relation to the Equality Act, official services for Survivors, far right men taking over the survivor movement and female voices and need being cast aside. (There is quite a lot more).

Do u think I will fit in and be able to contribute to the cause?

Is this a feminist group you are joining? You'll probably find there are lots of new women joining at the moment because of the GRA issue (at least that's my experience in my local group) and a mix of different women with different levels of knowledge and different specific areas of interest, My experience has been really positive and it''s been great to find a friendly group of women that I can talk about this stuff in real life with. I don't know if there's any reading material I can suggest (I just turned up at my first meeting without having read anything) but you could ask them?

I should probably add - Have you researched the group to make sure they are in line with your views? it took me a while searching online to find the right one for me!

far right men taking over the survivor movement

Would anyone feel comfortable starting a thread about this? They seem very well organised, and I get the impression they work on targeting one group after another.

Thank you for the replies & advice, I'd almost given up hope.

I've been on the Facebook page for quite some time & find it interesting and informative, I feel a lot more comfortable going now.

userschmoozer, the area I live is currently being targeted, all in a rebranded and under the radar manner. I think this is part of UKIPs next bid for power although I don't think it will work, as survivors of sexual offences must be one of the most diverse demographics and targeting one section of the paedophiles never goes down well.

It is still very worrying as a certain number of Survivors are drawn to the toxic masculinity protest/campaigning side and female voices are lost. It also is very damaging to the public perception of Survivors and the cause in my view.

That is a revival of a tactic used about 20 years ago. An anti pedophile group appeared, arranged loads of protests locally outside the local prison, and leafleted all the estates. I know a few right on people who got swept up in it, until it was revealed who was behind the group, and it collapsed. (That happened because of in fighting, which the far right seem just as prone to as the far left.)