BBC Drama Three Girls & Sara Rowbotham for MBE

Hey Sweeties,

As regular readers and followers of ClaireySweetie, and/or any of my other social channels, there is no denying the fact that I am opinionated and do not shy away from topics others might be too weary to post about (General election 2017: Social media and pushing opinions; Too scared to speak out [against Trump]). Equally, I am passionate about doing good, particularly when it comes to the environment, and raising money for charity (like swimming across Weymouth Harbour on Christmas Day). I think it is important to put our voices to things that matter and there is a campaign I would really like your support in pushing.

BBC Drama – Three Girls

Back in May (2017), the BBC aired three-part drama, Three Girls, which covered the story about the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, and how authorities failed hundreds of young girls by not taking seriously their allegations of rape, believing them to be unreliable witnesses. Eventually, 12 British Pakistani men were brought to justice but new evidence continues to be investigated.

The drama was harrowing and if Twitter was anything to go by, many people –myself included- were emotionally distraught by what we saw.

So here’s what I would like your help with –

Sara Rowbotham - BBC Three Girls

Sara Rowbotham for MBE

Sara Rowbotham was the Sexual Health Worker who campaigned tirelessly for years to the authorities to take notice about what was happening in Rochdale to young girls, but no one listened. It was not until a few years later that the authorities acknowledged their failings and worked with Rowbotham and the girls to bring the gang to justice.

When viewers watched the final episode, we were all delighted that a positive result had been achieved and there were early calls for Sara Rowbotham to be publicly acknowledged for her work. Then, as the episode came to a close and the credits began to roll, viewers learned that following the case, understandably the stress of it all had had an impact on her, but horrifyingly, Sara was made redundant from her senior role. To say Twitter was outraged was an understatement and my own personal anger really took hold. But we can still do good. A campaign has been set up to get Sara Rowbotham awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List and the more support we can get behind it, the better chance it has of succeeding. It takes 30 seconds of your time to click this link, sign the petition, and share it on.

Here’s that link again – http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sara-rowbotham-mbe

I will be happy to personally thank each and every one of you that lets me know you have signed the petition, either in the comments, or if you respond to my tweet about this post. Please let this campaign be a success.

Thank you x

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