‘You’re not on your own, we’re here through it all’
For people reporting rape or sexual abuse, the criminal justice system can be hard to navigate.
Crawley’s Rape Crisis centre offers women or girls aged 13 and older support throughout the process, as well as impartial infomation on what to expect.
Yvonne Trainor, who manages the Crawley centre, said having a person to go with them through the process helped survivors have the courage to see a case through, if they wanted to.
“We have an independant sexual violence advocate, ISVA for short. Their job is to talk to women who are thinking about reporting and give them more infomation about what will happen if they report, what the process is. When they do report we can go with them to the police and if it goes to trial, they can go with them to court. They support them during the wait as to if it’s going to be charged.”
She said that some people contacting the service were not prepared or informed of the need for them to give detailed interviews to police about what had happened, or the handing over of evidence, such as their mobile phone.
“I think one of the myths out there is you go to police, you give information and it’s in court tomorrow,” Yvonne said. “It’s a long process.”
The gap between a report and a decision to charge could be a long wait and getting a case to trail could take as long as two years, she said.
Through that wait, the Rape Crisis advocate would be able to keep the survivor involved and tell them what was going on.
As the centre is not told specific details of what has happened to an individual, people contacting the centre can be guaranteed they will have impartial advice and it
will not affect how their case is handled.
Yvonne was clear that the centre aimed to give immediate help and advice to anyone who asked for it.
“We’re always stretched but people can just ring up and say, ‘I’m just not sure what to do’.
“Everyone who rings up will get immediate support.
“They’ve been traumatised by what’s happened already, we’re in the business of helping them to feel more grounded.
“We can’t take away that trauma and what they’ve been through but we can help them out with the criminal justice system.”
She said that while there may not be enough evidence to charge or convict, reporting an incident could help police with a similar case or connected individual.
“What we don’t want is for women to stop reporting things, there are already too many perpetrators on the streets,” she said.
She said she believed the year on year rises in reports of sexual abuse, a common trend over the last couple of years, was now slowing down.
But sexual offences and harrassment were still an underreported issue, as she said an estimated one in five women and girls had suffered a sexual offence of some kind.
“Women that have suffered from sexual violence think that they are on their own, they feel so ashamed that they can’t tell anybody what’s happened.
“We’re here. It’s a really confidential service.
“We don’t tell you to do anything at all, we just give information about what will happen.
“We’re here to support you, don’t suffer in silence.”
Rape Crisis also offers group therapy, FGM support and outreach services for marginalised or vulnerable women or those involved in prostitution.
The Crawley Centre helpline is 0808 802 9999. Offices are women only.
The advocacy service can be contacted on 01293 538 477 between 10am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, or by emailing advocacy@rcsas.org.uk.
Mankind, based in Hove, supports men in Sussex who have been affected by unwanted sexual experiences at any time in their lives. Visit www.mkcharity.org.
An ISVA service is also available through the Survivors Network. See survivorsnetwork.org.uk/gethelp/isva-service/