Cooking Groups at Moray Rape Crisis

At Moray Rape Crisis we have been thrilled to restart our groupwork programme for the first time since January 2020, following the easing of restrictions associated with COVID-19.

Survivors we have supported in this time have spoken about missing groupwork because it gives them a sense of community and support, wherever they are on their own healing journey. To date, our groupwork programmes have been activity-focussed and have included cooking, creative arts and singing. While no survivors attending these groups are asked to disclose or speak about their experience, survivors have spoken about the strength and solidarity they feel standing beside other survivors.

We have been very grateful to partner with The Inkwell (Elgin Youth Development Group) to deliver our most recent groups, following funding through the Community Recovery Fund successfully secured by Elgin Youth Development Group towards the provision of community groupwork programmes. These cookery-based groups were held at The Inkwell and dishes ranged from healthy salads, breads and curries, made from scratch, to cupcakes, vegan chocolate and apple cake.

“In the same way as support, there’s no right or wrong way to move forward and everyone has an individual choice.”

Reflecting on this group was a reminder of how similar cooking is to the process of healing…

Time is taken to commit to a recipe – this may have required looking at various options, gaining others perspective before deciding which to move forward with, which is much the same when accessing support.

Both healing and cooking require time, effort, focus and for a range of resources to be present throughout the process. Guidance and support to navigate through may come in different forms – a person, a book, or an online resource.

Once the dish is finished, in the same way when support ends there is time for reflection. What worked well, what would you change, what would you keep the same? You may even reach out to others close to you for their reflection. We may decide we want to try something similar but different – it’d be hard to eat only one dish the rest of our lives and think about what we may miss out on if we did! Whether in reflecting on support we’ve engaged with or a dish we’ve made it’s important to acknowledge the effort and time taken to be where we are, in spite of challenges to get there.

Sometimes when making food, we want to make more and quickly! At other times we decide not to or to take some time before we do. In the same way as support, there’s no right or wrong way to move forward and everyone has an individual choice. And where we may be used to having cupboards full of cookbooks, or collated recipes from friends, family and experiences over the years, it’s good to think our healing is similar and can always be added to. Wherever you are on your journey, we are here to support you to develop your strengths and resources in any way we can.

‘I was proud of what I made and achieved’

Survivor attending cooking group

If you have been affected by any form of sexual violence, no matter when it happened, you do not have to cope with this on your own. Moray Rape Crisis provides non-judgemental, confidential and free support, advocacy and information to children, young people and adults aged 11 and over. We will listen to what you say, believe you and treat you with respect.

You can contact us for support at contact@morayrapecrisis.scot or on 01343 550 407.

You can also contact the Rape Crisis Scotland National Helpline, each day from 5pm to midnight, on 08088 01 03 02, or by texting 07537 410 027 or emailing support@rapecrisisscotland.org.uk.