South West sexual abuse support charity says demand for help has risen during pandemic
Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support say referrals are up 30 percent but the worst may be yet to come
Last updated 26th Nov 2020
A charity that supports victims of rape and sexual abuse in our region says they've seen an increase in demand during the pandemic. As the UN begins 16 days of action against gender based violence, we've been speaking to Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support about how they've handled coronavirus.
"We've seen about a 30 percent increase in referrals on the same time last year, over the period of the pandemic so far, " Chief Executive Claire Bloor told us.
"And our helpline calls again, that's increasing as well.
"So we definitely started seeing, after an initial quiet few weeks, a real spike in the number of helpline calls and I think the intensity and length of those calls as well."
Claire told us victims of sexual assault may be having their trauma exacerbated by the lockdown and the isolation that comes with it.
"Everyone is struggling but if you've had an experience of rape or sexual abuse or any sort of trauma in the past, this level of not having any control over your situation, not being able to leave your house, not being able to distract yourself maybe with the things that had kept you going...all of those things that a lot of our clients use as coping strategies, really positive coping strategies, are suddenly not available to them.
"That's been causing an extra layer of pressure and really triggering people around the trauma they've already experienced."
As most people have, SARSAS have been forced to change their ways of working so they can continue to help people.
"We already ran a really successful helpline (before lockdown) that people could contact five days a week and we extended the hours of that.
"We have a new support service and we've just introduced a live chat service.
"But we also then do a huge amount, so we do 100 sessions a week of what was face to face support and is now remote support via video or we do it over the phone with people."
But Claire said the changes have been tough for her staff as well.
"We had out helpline based in our Bristol office so everyone came into work, did their job and then went home so you leave your work in the office," she said.
"Now we're asking all these amazing volunteers and incredible counsellors and therapists to do all this from their own homes.
"They've been brilliant but it is a really different way of working and we have put in quite a lot of extra support and we've done some work around resilience coaching and extra supervision for people just because it is a huge demand."
Some COVID recovery funding from the government has also allowed SARSAS to actually increase the number of counselling sessions they can offer, as well as support work sessions, while also bringing in a new live chat service.
Sadly though Claire thinks the worst is yet to come.
"We know there's a mental health crisis coming and I think there's still some people who aren't feeling yet like they're ready to access the support that they need," she said.
"Once the pandemic is over and people have coped with this period I think there will be another spike in terms of the demand for support."
If you have been a victim of sexual abuse You can learn more about SARSAS and how to access support on their website here https://www.sarsas.org.uk/.