A day in Bristol: Supporting victims and survivors of sexual violence in Avon and Somerset
Last Friday, I was in Bristol visiting organisations dedicated to providing specialist support to survivors of sexual violence across Avon and Somerset. The organisations are part of the Sexual Violence Therapies Alliance. I started the day at Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (SARSAS). From there, I visited Womankind and the Southmead Project.
SARSAS
SARSAS are a specialist support service for people in Avon and Somerset who have experienced any form of sexual violence at any point in their lives. SARSAS offer counselling, support sessions, a confidential helpline, training and advice to professionals and support to friends and family of people affected by sexual violence. They are one of 39 members of Rape Crisis England and Wales.
SARSAS are the lead provider for the Sexual Violence Consortium which includes the Greenhouse, Womankind, and the Southmead Project. They also offer other specialist interventions to older women, to people with learning disabilities and autism. And run outreach activities for marginalised groups.
At SARSAS I met with Lorri Weaving, Chief Executive Officer, and her team of passionate and caring staff, and they are committed to end gender-based violence and to supporting people affected by it. Lorri explained that referrals went up over covid, then plateaued at new higher than pre-pandemic level. Currently they receive on average four referrals per day. About 80% of their clients have suicidal thoughts, and that Child Sexual Abuse disclosure can take on average 24 years after the incident. I was pleased to hear that SARSAS is involved in a new NHSE funded project with the Sexual Assault Referral Centre supporting survivors at Eastwood Park prison.
Womankind
Womankind supported women in the Bristol area since 1986 with professional counselling, group psychotherapy, befriending and a helpline service.
During the visit I met with Womankind CEO Kyra Bond, some of the staff and trustees, all of whom talked passionately about their services. The team explained that Womankind brings many specialist services to the SV Alliance. They run a befriending service for women in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire area who have experienced sexual violence at any point in their lives and are struggling with their mental health and isolation as a result.
Womankind also has a support service for Deaf Women and a counselling service for girls and young women, aged 16-18, affected by domestic abuse as part of Nextlink+. They also have a Safer Women’s Project which is a specialist counselling for women who are refugees, trafficked or asylum seekers.
The team expressed optimism about the Sexual Violence Therapy Alliance which they say it brings more benefits such as the ability to be agile and responsive to clients, and a strong and trusted relationship across the services.
Southmead Project
My final visit was the Southmead project. The project provides vital counselling and support services for survivors of abuse and addiction across Bristol and surround areas. I met with CEO Imogen McCabe and Head of Finance, Pete Wraith, who shared positively about how the Sexual Violence Alliance has enabled their organisation to offer counsellors additional training in trauma processing techniques, ensuring the continuation of high-quality, trauma informed therapy.
Their Nexus counselling service provides counselling sessions for clients who have experienced abuse and currently have an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Nexus sessions can also be held remotely to ensure that they are accessible to as many clients as possible.
The project also offers long-term counselling to support survivors who have experienced any type of abuse (including sexual, physical, emotional, and domestic and neglect), for people aged 18 and above, of all genders, who live in Bristol, BANES, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire.
They also run weekly family support group for people who support someone with an addiction to drugs or alcohol, and other weekly activities for their clients through their Active Recovery service.
Reducing violent crime, with a specific focus on male violence against women and girls and serious youth violence and supporting victims are priorities in my Police and Crime Plan and to meet these priorities it is vital to support specialist organisations.
The organisations I visited deliver services that give victims and survivors trauma-informed support that helps them to rebuild their lives. That is why the ‘Commissioner’ part of the title of Police and Crime Commissioner is so important; it is my job to commission these services and make sure they support victims.
