Vital service for rape victims
‘Rape is always the fault of the perpetrator’
Tucked away in a quiet street near Oban town centre sits a support hub so deceptive in its appearance that the need for discretion from its clientele requires no further inducement.
The team behind this nondescript facade, however, provide a service so pivotal that the the requisite for sensitivity is paramount.
Jean Campbell and Maggie Dougall of Argyll and Bute Rape Crisis (ABRC), both started out as volunteer support workers and have nine years’ experience in offering specialist support and advocacy services to survivors of all forms of sexual trauma, including, but not limited to rape, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse, whether recent or historic.
‘The biggest thing we have to deal with is trying to get rape survivors to believe it is not their fault,’ said Mrs Dougall.
‘Feelings of guilt and shame are common among people who go through this horrific experience. Victim blame is still a big problem in our society,’ added Mrs Campbell.
‘People will say her skirt was too short or he was drunk. That’s rubbish. That would be like saying, well she had a really nice vase in her house, no wonder it was stolen.’
Mrs Campbell works as a senior support and advocacy worker with ABRC, with Mrs Dougall also holding a support and advocacy role, and the pair are passionate about the work they do.
Both women, along with Ailsa MacEachen, who is on maternity leave, are working on the National Advocacy Project (NAP), funded by the Scottish Government and launched by Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS), the umbrella organisation for ABRC.
NAP is intended to improve the support available to survivors of rape and sexual assault; an improvement in the experience of the criminal justice process for survivors and the development of a better understanding of survivors’ motivations to proceed or not with the criminal justice process.
‘Even if people are just considering reporting to the police, we can advise them on how that might go and what to expect,’ explained Ms Campbell.
‘This is a really big step for survivors to take. In cases of rape, the survivor is treated as a witness. This being the case, they do not receive any legal advice and it’s important they have all the information they need before they proceed.’
Ms Dougall added: ‘We neither encourage or discourage people from reporting a rape. That is not our remit. What we do is offer them valuable support and advice in complete confidence and, if they wish to proceed, continue providing that support throughout the whole process.’
This free and confidential support is available to survivors regardless of ethnicity or gender identity, as long as they are aged 12 years or over, as well as to non-offending family members.
‘We fully appreciate that everyone’s experience is unique to them and we believe that, with support, people can and will find their own answers,’ added Mrs Campbell.
‘Most importantly, every survivor who comes through our door is believed and no one has to make the recovery journey alone.’
To access support email Oban@ab-rc.org.uk or call 01631 567190, and ask to speak to Jean or Maggie. Confidentiality is a key priority for Argyll and Bute Rape Crisis (ABRC).
Mary came to see us two years ago after being raped by John, a man she had been seeing for around two years.
He was a bit controlling and liked her to dress in a particular style, and didn’t like her wearing a lot of make-up.
They had both been out at a celebration one evening, had both drunk quite a lot.
When they got home John became angry because she hadn’t paid enough attention to him and he started slapping her. He forced her to the floor and assaulted her.
Mary was shocked and devastated, and after it happened again a few months later, she decided she had to report the assault.
The police suggested to her that she might like to take up support from ABRC. The first thing we did was to reassure her of confidentiality.
In common with many survivors of sexual assault, Mary was carrying the burden of shame and guilt. We worked with her to overcome these feelings and to understand the responsibility for this crime was not hers. Rape is always the responsibility of the perpetrator.
Mary was scared of seeing or meeting him and had stopped going out to social events with friends, causing her to become isolated and depressed. We helped her to feel good about herself again.
This case getting to the High Court took around 18 months, but ABRC workers saw her weekly and were available for support when she needed it. We were able to tell Mary what to expect and explain some of the processes to her. We made contact with the police, the procurator fiscal service and the witness support service when she needed information about the case. The court is closed to the public when a rape survivor is giving evidence but we were able to be present in a supporting role.
Following the court case, Mary continued to come in and afterwards told us she felt she would never have got through it without our support. She has regained her self-confidence and is now going out socially again.
She remains nervous in certain situations but has decided that what happened is not going to define who she is – and we see that as a ‘job well done’.