'More support is needed for young children who've been abused in Devon'
A Devon charity says it welcomes plans for a new victim's code
Last updated 7th Feb 2024
A Devon sexual abuse charity says it is worried about the lack of support in the county for children who’ve suffered the worst kinds of abuse.
Devon Rape Crisis warn there’s effectively nothing for under eights and limited help between eight and 13 - unless the cases fall under specific remits where different agencies have responsibility,
The Government is currently working to pass a victim and prisoners' bill which would look at the provision offered to all victims - and create a new victim's code 'so that services can be strategically coordinated and targeted where victims need them'.
Dr Davina Cull, CEO of Devon Rape Crisis & Sexual Abuse Services, works to support victims of all ages across the Devon and Torbay council areas area - but says they can offer formal support over the age of 13.
"They haven't got play therapy for young children in our area and we don't have ways really in which we can help parents when they're supporting their children when that's happened.
"We need more investment and certainly I am quite concerned about the number of spaces and the number of services available for young children."
Joss Leicester, from the charity, says parents need help, adding: "They don't know how best to support their children either - it's a hugely challenging thing as a parent to think that harm has come to your child who you spend so much time trying to protect. Then to not know how to address it, how to talk about it with them."
This week is Sexual Violence Awareness Week, Feb 5-11, with figures from the Rape Crisis organisation showing 'Devon experienced an alarming 15.5% increase in reported cases of sexual violence compared to the previous year'.
They found: "3.3% of women and 1.2% of men are estimated to have experienced sexual assault within the last year" and '86% of survivors/victims of sexual offences are women'.
"Applying these prevalence rates to Devon suggests that 11,700 women and 4,000 men will have experienced sexual assault in the last year."
Dr Davina Cull, CEO of Devon Rape Crisis & Sexual Abuse Services, said: "Sexual Violence Awareness Week is a reminder that we all play a role in creating a safer, more supportive community.
"By coming together to raise awareness, challenge stigma, and support survivors, we can work towards a future free from sexual violence."
The group is urging individuals and organisations to show their support during Sexual Violence Awareness Week by using the hashtag #ITSNOTOK and aims to help create 'a culture of consent, respect, and empowerment for all'.
In 2021, after the murder of the city's Lorraine Cox, more than 1,000 women took to the streets
On Friday (Feb 9) the women's charity Trevi is staging a Reclaim the Night March in Plymouth.
A spokesperson said: "With reports of violence against women and girls once again on the rise in Plymouth, with an increase of 21% in domestic abuse cases in recent years, and our city having a higher prevalence of VAWG than the national figure, Reclaim the Night will see hundreds of Plymothians march through the city to demand change.
"Following the tragic events that occurred in Plymouth in 2021, several marches have taken place in the city. However, the upcoming Reclaim the Night march will be the first of its kind in Plymouth in the past eight years."