Who Do We Support?

Who Do We Support?

Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services specialist support is available to people living in Devon and Torbay aged 13 upwards, irrespective of gender identity or sex, who have experienced historic or recent: Rape Sexual Assault Childhood Sexual Abuse Sexual Exploitation Female Genital Mutilation Ritual Abuse Forced Marriage 'Honour' Crimes Sexual Intimidation Sexual Harassment Or ANY form of sexual violence

Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services specialist support is available to people living in Devon and Torbay aged 13 upwards, irrespective of gender identity or sex, who has experienced historic or recent Rape, Sexual Assault, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Sexual Exploitation, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Ritual Abuse, Forced Marriage, 'Honour' Crimes, Sexual Intimidation, Sexual Harassment or ANY form of sexual violence.

We offer support via our anonymous telephone helpline or anonymous email support service and through individual direct face to face support, at a pace that you are comfortable with. Direct support sessions are offered online, by phone, or in person at one of our bases - you can choose which works best for you.

Our support is available for survivors of rape and/or sexual abuse aged 13 and over living in Devon and Torbay (but not Plymouth). It doesn’t matter if the abuse took place yesterday or sixty years ago, we are here to help.

We also offer support to the families, friends and partners of those affected by sexual violence via our telephone helpline and email support service.

Why We May Not Be Able To Offer Direct Support

We are a specialist sexual violence agency. Whilst we always try and be flexible, there are some circumstances where we’re not able to provide support.

The work we do requires you to be in a safe place and ready to engage in recovery from sexual violence. This means that we are unable to support anyone in a current or recent risk situation such as;

• someone who has been in a domestic abuse or stalking situation in the past 6 months

• someone who is talking about suicide planning or has in the last six months attempted suicide

• someone with severe and/or persistent mental illness

• someone currently being investigated for, or who have been convicted of, sexual violence or assault

This is because the support that we provide is therapeutic and not safety planning or risk management. We work closely with other specialist organisations that are best placed to provide support and safety in these situations.

We do not work with people already in receipt of therapeutic services with another organisation.