What happens when a personal loss becomes a national, public campaign?
No one will forget the image of 8 year old Sarah Payne in her red school jersey that appeared in every newspaper after her disappearance in 2000. After her murdered body was discovered, the image was also used to front the Sarah’s Law campaign that her mother Sara launched against paedophiles.
Velvetina Francis’s son Gerry was killed in the New Cross Fire of 1981 which triggered anti racial discrimination campaigns. Velvetina herself never thought the cause of the fire was race related.
So what happens when a personal loss becomes a national, public campaign? How can it affect the victims, and can it help or hinder the grieving process? Jenni talks to Sara Payne, Velvetina Francis and Detective Inspector George Couch, a Metropolitan police family liaison co-ordinator.
A Mother's Story, Sara Payne, published by Hodder & Stoughton
