Abstract
This article explores the involvement of specialist sexual violence services, including Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs), in supporting victims/survivors of rape and sexual abuse to engage with the criminal justice system (CJS) in England and Wales. The underpinning research, conducted in one area of England, included referral data from the police and key specialist sexual violence services, interviews with 15 victims/survivors of sexual violence in contact with the police and specialist services, and interviews with 14 practitioners from sexual violence and related services. We examine the complex needs of victims/survivors of sexual violence (who have experienced historical child sexual abuse, acquaintance rape or rape in the context of intimate partner abuse), how their needs differ and vary over time, and the ways in which these diverse and changing needs are met by specialist sexual violence services. Non-specialist agencies, such as statutory mental health services, are unable to provide similarly targeted responses. The research found that specialist sexual violence services play particularly crucial roles through the use of approaches that can be characterised as flexible, enabling, holding and mending. However, this important work could easily be lost in the current climate of local service commissioning, to the great detriment of victims/survivors of sexual violence.
Highlights
Rape can have a devastating impact on every aspect of victims’/survivors’ lives and make them vulnerable to further episodes of sexual abuse or violence (McMillan and Thomas, 2009)
One of the Rape Crisis Centres (RCCs) received the largest proportion of referrals from the Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) (35% of SARC clients), and had considerable ‘internal’ referrals to its Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs), Life Enhancement Skills Adviser (LESA) and specialist counselling services
As we alluded to in the introduction, in the new world of commissioning of sexual violence support services, the flexibility and variety of input provided by specialist sexual violence services may appear confusing to commissioners who are working within more limited statutory cultures and guidance
Summary
Rape can have a devastating impact on every aspect of victims’/survivors’ lives and make them vulnerable to further episodes of sexual abuse or violence (McMillan and Thomas, 2009). There can be long-term physical, psychological and wider impacts of being the victim of rape and sexual assault that include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, inability to sleep and other effects, such as physical disability. In a study comparing mental health and general population samples in England and Wales, Khalifeh et al (2014) found that individuals with severe mental health problems were 2.9 times more likely to have experienced sexual violence in the past year. Before the late 1990s, specialist support for victims of sexual violence in England and Wales was mainly provided by Rape Crisis Centres (RCCs) situated in the voluntary sector (Westmarland and Alderson, 2013). By 2015 there were 48 RCC services in England and Wales (Hawkins and Taylor, 2015)
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