‘Support needs for survivors of sexual violence can’t be met with available public funds’

Survivors of sexual violence face multiple barriers in accessing vital support services, as demand increasingly outstrips availability.

“When you find the courage to speak to someone, you want to do it there and then, not in six weeks’ time,” said one respondent in a recent assessment that revealed long waiting lists, a lack of awareness of help available, and how to access it, all serve to prevent people from getting the support they need.

Voluntary and health sector leaders say demand for specialist support cannot be met with existing provision and available public funds.

In a bid to cut down on waiting times for free support, Bristol Sexual Violence Support Consortium, consisting of Barnardo’s Against Sexual Exploitation, SARSAS (Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support), The Green House and Womankind Therapy Centre is looking at the possibility of launching a paid counselling service.

Voscur has been awarded a grant from The National Lottery Community Fund to do a feasibility study and is asking survivors of sexual violence or abuse to complete a short survey – this would determine the need for a paid service and how it could best meet needs.

The charity, which supports voluntary organisations, published the region’s first sexual violence needs assessment last year. This revealed the many barriers faced by survivors of abuse and violence in accessing support.

Read more: ‘It took me 11 years to tell anyone – I was afraid what people would think of me’

Voscur says: “This is concerning, as survivors’ needs can escalate: women who have experienced child sexual abuse or sexual violence as an adult are at least twice as likely to experience a mental disorder and at least five times more likely to attempt suicide than those with little experience of violence or abuse.”

Sexual violence is not limited to any particular socio-economic group

The charity continues: “Sexual violence is not limited to any socio-economic group; long waiting lists and time-limited interventions can lead some survivors to access private alternatives.

“In some cases, survivors have described private counselling as inadequate or unsafe; one survivor said it was “dangerous – I wasn’t feeling any better. I was getting deeper and deeper into blackness”.

“If those who are willing and able to pay an amount of money for the support they receive could access an accredited counsellor, we need to know what this service should look like, and which price point is best.

“For example, if sessions need to be subsidised, or if certain areas of Bristol and Somerset are particularly lacking in provision for survivors.”

Any survivor of sexual violence and/or abuse (or, in case of children, a parent or carer of a child survivor) is eligible to take this survey, and their answers will remain anonymous.

The results of the survey will be analysed to help understand the demand for a paid counselling or support service.

Voscur says this potential service could ensure that more people in distress get the urgent support they need and is asking survivors to complete the survey to help ensure it reaches those who could benefit most.

For further information on the survey, contact Jennifer McLamb, consortium innovations manager, via email: jennifer@voscur.org or call 0117 909 9949. The survey is available online via: www.voscur.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/paid-counselling-service-in-bristol-avon-and-somerset. The deadline for completion is Monday, March 4 at 5pm.

Read more: Help needed for victims of child sexual abuse in Bristol