FROM BULLIED TO BOSS

These women took their classmates’ taunts and turned them into businesses

- ASHLEIGH PAGE.

‘I hid in the closet, now I talk on stage’

Jackie Handy, 49, is an author, TEDx and keynote speaker and inclusive leadership specialist (jackiehandy.com) and lives in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire.

Stepping down from the stage, I took a deep breath. I couldn’t believe I’d done it – I had just told my story in front of hundreds of people.

It was September 2018 and I had delivered a TEDx talk, informing companies how best to be truly inclusive. It was particularly poignant for me because speaking openly about my sexuality was something I never would’ve done growing up.

OFFENSIVE NAMES

It was only when I’d hit puberty that I started to question whether it was boys or girls I fancied. At 15, I told my friends that I was gay and it wasn’t long before the whole school knew about it.

I started to hear offensive names ringing through the corridors, and while I was usually extrovert and chatty, I began to withdraw from my friends and studies.

Then, one day, the constant name calling just got too much and I punched a boy in my class. I was shocked - I’d never hit anyone before.

‘What’s up with you?’ my parents asked me later. They could tell something was clearly wrong.

‘Are you pregnant?’ Dad demanded. I shook my head but I couldn’t answer him. I knew my parents loved me dearly but I didn’t know how to say the words.