The Revolution isn’t new. It’s just been invisible – like us. They haven’t seen us, and we haven’t seen each other – but we’ve been there.
For as long as we have existed, people who have worked within the Lived Experience Professions have reported examples of exploitation. Labour had been unpaid, poorly paid and emotional labour has regularly been abused. The most frightening thing is that these examples happen in plain sight, but are not seen. When individuals report these issues, they are often alone and do not have access to support from other LXPs, people who can validate their experiences and explain this phenomenon to them. Well-meaning (or not so well-meaning) colleagues may think they are offering support through attempts at telling LXPs that issues they are raising are based on their own perception, or that these issues do not exist.
The Revolution has been the times where we have met other LXPs, shared our stories, learnt that we are not alone. The Revolution has been the times we have supported each other to carry on. The Revolution has been whenever we have reminded each other or ourselves of what LXPs do, and disentangled that from it becoming entangled into a generic organisational post that bears no relation to the heart and soul of what we do. The Revolution is when we are challenging something in a world where we are alone.
The most powerful thing we have in this Revolution is sharing our support, knowledge experiences and validating what is happening to us.
LXP Revolution 