09:00, 11 July 2020
Words by Smiley Team, Staff Writer, London
The Survivors Trust has, thanks to funding from the Ministry of Justice, expanded their hours for the national Supportline for six months in response to the pandemic and lockdown.
The largest umbrella agency for specialist rape and sexual abuse services in the UK, The Survivors Trust has been providing infrastructure support to their members for the past 15 years. They have 124 member agencies based in the UK and Ireland providing information, advice, support and therapy to over 80,000 individual survivors each year. Their services work with victims and survivors of all ages, all genders, of all forms of sexual violence, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, including support for partners and family members.
Founded out of a need for specialist trauma services to help each other to survive in a difficult climate, the project was founded in 2000 when support for survivors was very hit or miss. Most specialist services worked in isolation and there were no regional or national funding streams for support. Centres struggled to find the resources they needed themselves and many closed as a result of lack of funding. As a result, the managers of six small specialist charities came together to offer each other peer support and encouragement, advice on managing trauma services, and share information about how to gain funding to deliver them and as a result The Survivors Trust came into being.
The Trust provides infrastructure support, networking and representation for member agencies so that they can provide the best quality support to survivors of sexual violence as well as contribute to policy changes that can keep them open. Their services provide the best quality support available to survivors in the UK. Of survivors that accessed both Government funded and voluntary sector support services, 72% were more satisfied with their treatment at voluntary sector organisations. Survivors using voluntary services felt heard, believed and respected 92% of the time compared with 62% with the Police and 38% with Social Services.
Their Supportline provides much needed confidential advice, support and information to all survivors of rape or sexual abuse, their supporters, and professionals. Calls are free from UK landlines and are not itemised on phone bills.
If you need support you can call 08088 010 818
Monday to Friday 10am - 8:30pm
Saturday from 10am - 12:30pm, 1:30pm - 4:30pm and 6pm - 8:30pm
and Sundays 1:30pm - 4:30pm and 6pm - 8:30pm.
There is also a 24hr answer machine available at all times.
For more information and other ways to contact, see The Survivors Trust website.
