The story unfolds | How we help victims of sexual assault
Being raped or sexually assaulted is a very distressing experience and the effects can last for a long time. Each year there are around 190,000 incidents of serious sexual assault and an estimated 47,000 female victims of rape (or attempted rape).
Victim Support is working on new guidelines, including a resource pack, which will help staff and volunteers further improve the invaluable support they provide for victims of sexual assault.
We can provide help for victims of sexual assault and rape all over the country. Victims talk to someone in confidence and receive independent emotional and practical support. If victims choose to take the case to court, Witness Service volunteers will explain everything, making sure that victims understand the procedure and making them as comfortable as possible.
In the past year, Victim Support Northamptonshire has dealt with almost 250 victims of serious sexual assault - a figure that has more than doubled since the year before. Glynis Bliss, Director of Victim Support in the county, says:"There was a tremendous surge earlier in the year when we had a lot of people come forward after a string of high-profile cases in the national media: sex attacks, rapes ... that tends to bring home a few memories for people and they decide to go and see someone; that happens quite a lot."
New training facilities at Victim Support Norfolk mean that future victims of crime will reap the benefits of being in contact with Victim Support. Norwich Consolidated Charities has given Victim Support Norfolk a £28,000 grant which will be used to expand the training programme. The grant will provide more core and specialist training to enable the organisation to recruit more volunteers and equip existing ones with the skills they need in dealing with those affected by serious offences such as rape and sexual assault. A new learning centre in Norwich, including a small library with reference materials, will be developed as an education resource for all staff and volunteers.
Victim Support Humber has a new service for victims and witnesses giving evidence in court. The adult vulnerable and intimidated Witness Service has been designed to help prepare witnesses to give evidence at any of the magistrates' courts or Crown Court centres across Humberside. It is hoped that when the service becomes established, witnesses who feel threatened or nervous, such as victims of sexual assault or rape, will be able to put themselves forward to get help.
Mervyn Bishop, Area Manager for Victim Support Humber, says: "This is a much-needed addition to the level of support which is currently being provided by the Witness Services".
Different initiatives have been set up this year to help young people come forward and report crimes such as sexual assault and rape. Many children are afraid to report an incident to the police because the abusers are often family friends or relatives. A quarter of all recorded rape victims are children and most abuse is committed by someone the child knows and trusts. Three-quarters of sexually abused children do not tell anyone at the time and around a third are not able to tell anyone about the experience later.
Victim Support Essex has embarked on a scheme using mobile phone text messages to reach out to young people and reassure them that they do not have to cope on their own after crimes such as sexual assault. Working with Essex Police and Essex Crimestoppers, they have produced more than 60,000 bookmarks with a text message design, which will be distributed to schools across the county. The bookmarks encourage young victims to call a Victim Support office to get practical or emotional support. Tom Elliot, Area Manager at Victim Support Essex, says: "This is intended to raise awareness of our service with young people who may feel isolated."
The story unfolds | How we help victims of sexual assault