York man renews calls for law to make sure victims of sexual assault can access counselling

A York man is calling on the new Government to make sure all victims of sexual abuse are offered counselling.

Kev Curran says his little brother Declan was told he couldn't talk about what happened to him - in case it interfered with evidence ahead of the trial.

But while waiting to go to court Declan took his own life, aged just 13.

Kev says he's meeting his MP today as part of his campaign to make sure everyone has access to therapy. He says although guidance is in place he wants a change in the law to make sure everyone is offered support.

"You want the loving arms, the kindness of society, the justice system to be around you, to support you, to be on your side. I think very many victims are feeling discarded or just left by the system and I want to change that."

"I want closure myself, but I can't let go of this until I I can make sure that I can change it for others, and I know that it's happening to people now and in recent years, so guidance and legislation isn't doing justice to people that are going through such horrible crimes."

"Whenever I speak to other people who hear about my campaign, they say you shouldn't have to be fighting for that. We've got a new government. It's an opportunity I think, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to really take a a long hard look and reform it properly. Too many victims are being left behind."

He says denying a victim the chance to talk about what happened is wrong: "What it speaks of to me is almost like a victim could possibly be colluding with a professional therapist or counsellor to work on their story, but we shouldn't be looking at it from that premise. We should be believing the voices of young people and children that are victims of these crimes."

Where to get help

If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this article, help is available. Contact Rape Crisis:

Rape crisis England and Wales - 808 500 2222 - https://rapecrisis.org.uk

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