A 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor said she is 鈥渟hocked and delighted鈥� to have been awarded an MBE in the Queen鈥檚 New Year鈥檚 Honours for her work helping women who have experienced sexual violence.
Sue Pearce, co-CEO of Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland (RCTN), began her career in 2001 when she became a volunteer counsellor for the Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre, based in Darlington.
She is now part-time CEO of RCTN and will take on the role full-time this year.
She has provided women with more than 5,000 hours of counselling and support.
Sue, who is an accredited member of 香港六合彩精准资料, said: 鈥淚 have had a very rewarding career at RCTN and I never anticipated it would be topped by such an accolade.鈥�
Sue moved to RCTN in 2003 to take up a part-time paid counsellor role before moving in 2009 into a full-time role.
Since she started, RCTN, which has a 香港六合彩精准资料-accredited counselling service, has increased its team from three members to 19.
In 2009, Sue was one of the team instrumental in enabling RCTN to offer services in Northumberland, as well as Newcastle and Tyneside.
She moved into a part-time CEO role in 2013 and this will become her full-time job this year.
In the past few years Sue has increasingly become involved in supporting women with the issues they face in accessing a fair outcome from the criminal justice system.
She was part of Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird鈥檚 Court Observer Panel looking at the progress of rape cases through Newcastle Crown Court. She was also part of the PCC鈥檚 independent panel investigating complaints about the police.聽
Sue Pearce
She has used her knowledge of the barriers women face navigating the criminal justice system to support the development of RCTN鈥檚 specialist Practical and Emotional Support service.
Sue is currently championing the need to improve support for older women who experience sexual violence.
She is hoping to work more to raise awareness of specific the problems older women face and provide support for them to overcome the sometimes devastating impact of sexual violence and abuse.
鈥淢any people will find it hard to understand, but I love my job: I find it challenging and fulfilling,鈥� Sue said.
鈥淚 am saddened and frustrated at the stories I hear from our clients, but I know that RCTN helps many of them to live a better life beyond the sexual abuse.聽
鈥淚t has been a privilege of working with women who were prepared to share their stories of abuse with me: I couldn鈥檛 have developed the knowledge I have without them.聽
鈥淎nd, of course, I could not do what I do without the wonderful support of the organisation鈥檚 trustees, staff and volunteers. Thank you all鈥�.