New 24 hour Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Line

[IwantToRetire]

Call free on 0808 500 2222

The 24/7 Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Line is a free phone and online chat service for anyone aged 16+ in England and Wales who has been affected by any kind of sexual violence, abuse or harassment – no matter when or where it happened.

This includes people who have experienced something sexual that they didn’t want, didn’t consent to or are feeling confused about, as well as their friends, family or anyone else who is trying to support them.

The Support Line is staffed around the clock by a team of specialist operators who are there to listen, answer questions and offer emotional support in confidence. [This means that conversations will always stay private unless an operator believes that a child or adult at risk of harm is in danger.]

The Support Line is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for people of all genders and backgrounds.

rapecrisis.org.uk/news/247-rape-sexual-abuse-support-line/

I was going to say oh no, RC has been captured because of the talk about genders.

But then, and both this and the actual number are hard to find on the web page, I saw this on another page.

Who will I be talking to?

One of our specialist operators, all of whom are women. All of our operators understand how complex sexual violence, abuse and harassment can be. And they also understand that everyone's experiences and feelings are different.

They will listen to you and believe you, and they will never, ever judge.

247sexualabusesupport.org.uk/faqs/#who-will-i-be-talking-to

So a good news story and point of information.

-------

Scotland www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/help-helpline/

Northern Ireland rapecrisisni.org.uk/

But are they women or women as in, TWAW women? Or would they say people who identify as women if that were the case? It’s so confusing.

Have you found anything that specifies that this line has female only people to chat to if needed?

Is this part of the Rape Crisis network that is being sued for not providing a female only support group when it was requested and for excluding the woman who asked? Because they have a very open definition of woman.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4539958-big-update-on-rape-crisis-legal-challenge

This is good news, however in my experience when Rape Crisis organisations say the word woman it includes males that identify as women.

@IamSarah is that SN? I used to go to the drop-ins there but stopped when they opened it up to transwomen. I wrote to them about it but they weren’t very helpful.

Yes @CyanCyan it is Survivors Network. I am actually taking legal action against them, Helleofabore has posted a link to the thread about it.

I'd suggest they have one man available on each shift to pass the perverts to.
But yes, this is another situation where when they say 'woman' it should be a woman.

Just read the thread. Nothing but admiration, thank you for moving forward with this.

If I had need to use the Support line but a male voice answered, I’d redial.

Rape Crisis Federation England and Wales is not the same as the Survivors Network. One of the problems for them is that like Women's Aid once funding became available all sorts of other groups then put themselves forward to do similar work, but were less bother to funders as they didn't have all these feminist (or at that time) Women's Liberation principles about ways of working and being women only.

This in fact is the start of the rot. Not the issue of trans, who were later able to piggy back on this "best value" for money approach. Survivors Network were, still are, one of the carpetbagger organisations who have seen a source of money.

This is similar to what happened to many refuges when (thanks to Blair's depoliticising of the voluntary sector and making it into the "Third Sector") housing associations took over the running of many refuges because their cost value was better than small locally based women's organisations.

I know we are now facing the issue of trans colonisation of women's organisation but these groups were made vulnerable but funding pressures, and I am afraid to say the lack of support by women in the local community and more political feminist groups who thought that the actual practical work of front line services wouldn't really be a career winner.

As far as I know rape crisis centres / helplines, like women's refuges, set their own politices, and that Rape Crisis and Women's Aid are both just the coordinators of federations.

Its strange the FWR contributors have such a wealth of knowledge about any number of things, but there doesn't seem to be any shared knowledge of what is in fact very recent history, and a living reminder of political manipulation, of how women service providers came about, and what happened to them along the way.

If more women who felt women only services are vital were actively on the management committees of these groups it might help redress the balance.

In some ways the failure to remain engaged created the vaccum that trans ideology could just walk into.

@IamSarah lets hope you get the win you deserve. But however much I despise Survivors Network the real problem is that Brighton Council chose to fund them.

I understand from another thread that you are part of the Brighton Women's Liberation group, so not just for you, but for women in all towns and cities, we need local groups like this to lobby and pressurise local councils to value and fund women's services.

Hoping you are keeping well.

Sorry meant to add this to the post about the origins of Rape Crisis.

As far as I know this is the first time that the federation office will be providing frontline services (the existing National Rape Crisis Helpline was run by South London Rape Crisis through local trust funding) and them getting the funding is in itself a big step. Prior to this rape crisis centres and helplines have received very little money and dont really feature on the politicians radar. And in fact it was Boris Johnson who funded the 4 rape crisis centres in London rather than any labour group. And I think of the 4 London rape crisis centres, one has succumbed to local Labour funding and is now some sort of general support line, and the other have been amalgamated into some of the larger, corporate women's refuges, eg Solace and the nia project.

My main concern is that all this playing the political game etc., means that women needing rape crisis lines are probably none the wiser that any exist.

And the new national web site is just a mess. I cant imagine that any woman wanting immediate support would find it easier to use.

Just like what is in fact a really good service of SARACs where victims of rape can go and get medical help and not have to interact with the police, but can agree to provide medical evidence of rape that can later be used if found to match other rape victims forensic evidence. But how many women would know where to find them, or that they even exist.

Anyone who is concerned about what Rape Crisis means by women only should just ask them.

Thank you, yes we are in talks with the council. I have had face to face meetings about the lack of women's services so it is all documented.

Unfortunately, one particular councillor is a trans activist. When our group of women responded to a public consultation on women's services this councillor apologised to the trans community that our response made them feel unsafe. So it's an uphill struggle.

this councillor apologised to the trans community that our response made them feel unsafe

So looks like women not only have to be present and having a voice in women's groups but as councillors as well.

Not that that has gone well for those women who have tried to balance out women's rights against trans rights.