SLEEC SURGERY
for survivors of rape, domestic abuse, sexual assault & male violence who are 18 and older
SLEEC SURGERY
This project offers practical advice, advocacy, resistance support for survivors across Bristol and surrounding.
Fighting the systems and navigating colonial and capitalist services, housing, councils and organisations without help is exhausting and difficult. We have experienced our community facing barriers, oppression, dismissal, rights refused or retraumatising systems.
We are building a lived-experience led space where you can bring up issues you’re struggling with and want support and solidarity.
Things like:
Accessing support services
Benefits and applications
Housing issues or landlord problems
Complaints or accountability with agencies/services/charities
Accessing healthcare
Or any other challenge with the systems that you’re facing.
The Surgery will be run by Mehala, who brings lived experience, professional expertise in campaigns, collective resistance and organising and love and rage. Together, we’ll use our knowledge and time to advocate alongside you as your comrades and community — not professionals talking at you.
Appointments are 1 hour long and can be booked monthly via our booking form.
Please know, this is not therapeutic or counselling support.
This project came about after seeing survivors experiencing horrific injustices often rooted in classism, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, transphobia/cis-sexism and ableism. Often we have limited or no options in these situations and sometimes the last port of call when needing help is to speak with your local MP. MP’s run local surgeries for this but they are limited in capacity, specialist knowledge and often don’t come from a place of radical care. We wanted to do something based on this format but centering lived-experience, solidarity and collective care.
What the space intends to be
The Surgery is designed to provide survivors with a place to discuss any issues, injustices or barriers they are facing with services, housing, health care, schools, councils and organisations.
Often the power dynamics we face when trying to tackle problems with accessing support are extremely re-traumatising and harmful, as we are navigating systems (whilst traumatised) that work against us and we have little options or capacity to challenge them. This means people can get away with harming those seeking support.
SLEEC wants to offer mutual support by helping you resist, challenge and build the fight. Through sharing our knowledge and time we hope to support in a more practical way as well as be sort of like your armour.
Some examples of issues that we will be open to help with include;
- Support Services – If you feel you have not been offered the right support, or need help accessing or pushing for specific support, we can advocate on your behalf and be present for communications to help understand their processes and provide them with the information they need with you.
- Benefits – If you need help and advice with completing application forms, working out entitlement or contacting benefits offices, we can help with that.
- Housing – If you need to apply for social housing, have been put in the wrong housing band priority, have issues with council/landlords/housing associations, we can send supporting letters, put you in contact with relevant housing unions or help you start a campaign.
- Health – If you feel you have not been offered appropriate care, or need help accessing or pushing for health care needs, we can advocate on your behalf, research your rights and be present for communications or write supporting letters etc.
- Complaints/challenges – If you would like to make an official complaint to any service for the way they have treated you or let you down, we can support you in this process. Accountability of agencies who work with survivors need to improve and they need to hear when they fail us.
- Any other issues – We are open to any and all issues. If we can help we will try. We may not be able to help and support all cases, but we will always be open and honest in what we can and cannot do.
Mehala Osborne is a working-class activist and single mum from Bristol. She has lived experience of domestic abuse and sexual violence. After fleeing violence and living in a safe house, she began campaigning against the systems that were fundamentally failing her and so many other survivors. Whilst living in a safe house, Mehala led the Right to Vote campaign with Women’s Aid, forcing changes to UK law so survivors can register and vote safely.
She has worked extensively across services and Bristol communities, challenging councils, housing policies and institutions that silence, harm and exclude survivors. She started a reform to social housing banding for women fleeing abuse (because survivors were not given priority banding) which gained national attention, and she continues to campaign for real accountability and change in housing, democracy, and survivor rights.
Whilst Mehala has extensive professional expertise, her activism is rooted in lived-experience, mutual aid, liberation and community organising.