Government’s Prisoner Early Release Scheme: What Does It Mean for Survivors?
It has been another challenging month for survivors, many holding their breath as the first roll outs of prisoners took place under the Government’s Early Release Scheme.
Under the Sentencing Act 2026 early release scheme in England and Wales, the government’s earned progression model offers qualifying prisoners earlier release, serving less than half of their prison sentences. This is a very concerning and drastic measure to tackle prison overcrowding, leaving many survivors feeling disheartened and in fear.
Around 5,000 prisoners are scheduled to be released in our communities, which was originally 6,000. Rigorous campaigning from ministers and survivor groups have led to the exclusion of people serving sentences for rape, serious child sexual and other grooming offences.
The Government promises that safeguarding measures like licensing conditions and monitoring, such as real-time GPS ankle tagging, are in place. Wider reforms were also introduced to increase supervision in the community and survivor support services. However, we are not the only survivor group who still have grave concerns.
What This Means For Survivors
For many survivors, sentencing represents more than punishment. It can provide a sense of acknowledgement, accountability and safety. That is why news headlines about offenders being released earlier than expected can be distressing, particularly for those who have worked hard to rebuild their lives after abuse.
Survivors impacted in the West Midlands can ring the West Midlands Offender Release Scheme Victim Support Advisor on 0300 303 1977.
Nationally, anyone seeking help can contact the Government’ dedicated Victim Support: Offender Release Helpline. Access emotional support, practical advice, and understand what support may be available to you.
Phone: 0808 168 9280
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays).
Further details can be accessed online via www.victimsupport.org.uk/offender-release-helpline/
What should survivors do if they are concerned?
If you are worried about an offender’s release, there are practical steps you can take:
1. Speak to your support worker or ISVA
An Independent Sexual Violence Advocate (ISVA) can help you understand what information is available and what safety measures may apply.
2. Check whether you are registered with victim notification services
Some victims are entitled to receive information about release dates and licence conditions through victim contact arrangements. Learn more about the Victim Contact Scheme here.
3. Report concerns immediately
If an offender attempts contact, breaches license conditions, or causes concern for your safety, report this to the police and relevant authorities as soon as possible. For life-threatening emergencies, please call 999.
Our Message to Survivors
We understand that discussions around early release can feel frightening, frustrating, or deeply unfair.
Every survivor deserves to feel safe, informed and supported. You do not have to carry these concerns alone.
We are working tirelessly to voice survivors’ lived-experiences from our region, advocating for better support from the Centre. Whilst this scheme will aid in reducing prison overcrowding, we have grave concerns about survivors’ safety now and in the future.
A Safe Space Makes All The Difference
A young survivor’s heartfelt letter
Recently, a warm, handwritten letter and a few goodbye gifts left us proud and emotional. In fact, our counsellor Cherri was moved to tears. She was moved to see how far her client has come, growing and thriving with confidence.
Read their kind words for yourself:
[Please note: To protect the survivor’s identity, we are sharing only one of the two pages of the letter]
“I see this as a way of life for me… My job is so rewarding and so satisfying. It brings me joy in knowing my legacy is saving lives not as a paramedic but as a counsellor,” said Cheri.
RSVP’s life-changing services include counselling and independent advocacy, among other support activities, training and workshops. Through a trauma-informed, survivor-centred approach, we boldly stand with survivors as they go through their healing journeys. We believe them and challenge the victim-blaming culture.
We stand shoulder to shoulder with all survivors: children, adults, and people of all genders. Our dedicated Children and Young People’s wing of services works especially hard to ensure young ones and their wider circle of support— parents, siblings, guardians— are heard, believed, and supported. They deserve to know they are not alone.
This is where our hardworking counsellors make all the difference. Delving into painful memories and difficult conversations— often for the very first time— counsellors often a safe space free from judgement. For For Cheri, this is both professional and deeply personal. As a survivor herself, she knows firsthand what it means to help children rediscover hope after trauma. life. She said: “As a survivor myself, I know that this is life changing: giving back to children what someone stole and that’s their voice, self-belief and self-love and hope to live again.”
We applaud this survivor for their bravery and resilience throughout their time with RSVP. And we also truly appreciate Cheri for the impact she has had in the lives of so many survivors, day in and day out.
To find out more about our Children and Young People’s services, click here. Or write to us at cyp@rsvporg.co.uk.
Rising with Resilience: Celebrate the End of the RSVP Recovery Appeal
We are very pleased to announce that the RSVP Recovery Appeal is now complete, reached over 110% of our target! Thank you to our fantastic community of supporters for raising over £5,700 to help rebuild our vital services for survivors: children, adults, their parents and carers.
This is a big achievement after the tough year we have had, as a specialist service and the sector as a whole. Back in May, we had shared the tough news about our funding crisis. We had to close certain services, and lost dear members of staffs due to funding cuts.
The Recovery Appeal was our earnest ask that you take what action you can to show survivors that they matter.
Support cannot disappear when the funding climate changes. We want to continue meeting survivors with empathy and to sustain our capacity, so fewer people face long waits for support.
That’s why your support for our cause is enabling more than just financial backing. It ignites hope for survivors, and a bright future for our specialist services. Thanks to you, we are on the path to rebuilding.
A special thanks also goes to our two incredible supporters whose fundraising challenges added to our appeal: the 100 Miles Dog Walking Challenge by Jo and the Rail Scrabblethon 2026 by Adrian. Both have gathered much support, raising over £500! We cannot thank you enough for helping us reshape the future for survivors.
Just as the appeal concluded, news hits about reforms to support survivors navigating the criminal justice system. The Government announced a series of changes aimed at improving how rape and serious sexual offence cases are handled. This is a wonderful reminder of how putting lived experience at the heart of change uplifts us all.
We, at RSVP, welcome these steps in reforming the journey to justice, and will continue working to ensure that every survivor’s voice is heard, supported and respected.
Thank you for supporting us, through the toughest of times.
Take Part In HS2 Resident Survey
RSVP is carrying out this anonymous survey to understand how HS2 construction is affecting residents of Chelmsley Wood and Castle Vale.
Key points:
- We are not collecting names, addresses, email addresses or any information that can identify you.
- Taking part is voluntary.
- You may skip any question you do not wish to answer.
- Your responses will be combined with those of other residents and used to help evidence local need and shape community support services and funding applications.
- By completing this survey, you agree that your anonymous responses can be used for these purposes.
Thank you for your time and support.
Make your voice heard.
Survivors At The Centre: Our Talk With the Victims’ Commissioner
At the start of the first Victims Rights Week (September 21–27, 2026) by the West Midlands Police And Crime Commisssioner, RSVP and our sister organisation GINA had a great opportunity. We welcomed the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Claire Waxman OBE, and the West Midlands PCC Victims Advocate Natalie Queiroz, whose own lived experience gives a voice to many survivors of domestic abuse.
RSVP and GINA were incredibly honoured for the opportunity to present the lived-experiences of survivors of sexual trauma in Birmingham and Solihull. Together with some of our leadership team, Counsellors and Independent Sexual Violence Advocates (ISVAs), we spoke openly about the pressures facing specialist support services and the difficult journeys of survivors navigating the criminal justice system. Natalie highlighted her vital campaign driving awareness of victim rights across the region, while we focused on the reality facing survivors on the ground.
Just a few days later, the Government announced a series of reforms aimed at improving how rape and serious sexual offence cases are handled. The changes include fixed trial dates, specialist courtrooms for rape and serious sexual offences in every Crown Court across England and Wales, and better facilities for victims, including private waiting rooms and separate entrances.
These changes come in response to a system that, for too long, has failed many survivors. With rape cases taking an average of 424 days to reach Crown Court, it is unsurprising that many victims withdraw from the process before their case is heard. As Andy Burnham recently stated, victims of rape and serious sexual offences have felt “let down” by the justice system for far too long, and that this is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
We see the personal, human impact of “not good enough” every day.
Behind every statistic is a person whose life has been placed on hold while they wait for justice. At RSVP, we have supported survivors who have waited as long as nine years from reporting an offence to seeing their case reach court. Others have faced repeated postponements, with trial dates moved multiple times or sentencing hearings delayed at the last minute.
Some survivors have arrived at court expecting the protections they were promised, only to be directed through the main public entrance and forced to fear coming in contact with the person accused of harming them. Others have felt unable to continue and have withdrawn from the process altogether.
These experiences can have a profound impact on wellbeing, recovery and confidence in the justice system.
However, we also see the difference that dedicated, specialist support can make. Our ISVAs walk alongside survivors throughout what is often a long and difficult journey, providing practical guidance, emotional support and advocacy at every stage.
We welcome these proposed reforms by the government, which offer hope that future survivors may face fewer barriers and less uncertainty. However, meaningful change will depend not only on policy announcements, but on their effective implementation. There is a need for a radical and urgent overhaul. We echo the concerns that Claire Waxman voiced in her open letter to the Prime Minister, stating: “As you prepare to set out your ten-year vision for the country through your Plan for Britain, I urge you to place criminal justice at its heart. Victims need more than assurances that the system will hold together.”
Survivors deserve a justice system that is timely, compassionate and trauma-informed. RSVP and GINA look forward to helping these changes ease survivors through improved criminal justice processes, and will continue working to ensure that every survivor’s voice is heard, supported and respected.
Raising The Bar: Are You Ready for the Changes to Workplace Harassment Law?
Since October 2024, employers have had a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work.
From 30 October 2026, that duty will be strengthened. Employers will need to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment, while new obligations will also protect workers from harassment by third parties such as customers, clients and members of the public.
But what does this mean in practice?
From reasonable to “all reasonable” steps.
There is no one-size-fits-all checklist. What is reasonable will depend on an organisation’s size, sector, resources, working environment and the risks faced by its workers.
Employers should be able to demonstrate that they have proactively identified risks and taken appropriate action. This could include:
· Risk assessments: Identifying potential hotspots, including lone working, power imbalances, alcohol at work events, customer-facing roles, travel, remote working and social media
· Policies and procedures: Ensuring anti-harassment, bullying, grievance and disciplinary policies are effective, current and communicated to all workers
· Training: Making sure staff and managers understand what harassment looks like, how to raise concerns and how to respond appropriately to disclosures
· Listening to workers: Using one-to-ones, staff surveys, exit interviews and other feedback to identify concerns and monitor workplace culture
· Clear reporting: Providing accessible reporting routes and responding to concerns promptly, fairly and sensitively, with appropriate safeguards against further harassment or victimisation
· Third-party risks: Considering how workers may be exposed to harassment from customers, clients, suppliers, contractors or members of the public.
The message is clear: prevention needs to be active, ongoing and evidenced — not simply a policy sitting in a handbook.
What changes in October 2026?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 will:
☑️Strengthen the preventative duty.
☑️Employers will need to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers.
☑️Introduce third-party harassment protections.
☑️Employers will have an obligation not to permit harassment of their workers by third parties.
☑️Increase the potential consequences.
Where a tribunal finds that an employer has breached the preventative duty following a successful sexual harassment claim, compensation can be increased by up to 25%.
These changes build on wider reforms, including stronger whistleblowing protection for workers who report sexual harassment, introduced in April 2026.
How can RSVP help?
The Rape and Sexual Violence Project (RSVP) provides free counselling and advocacy for survivors of sexual violence and abuse across Birmingham and Solihull. Our specialist training team also works with organisations to help prevent sexual harassment and create safer, more inclusive workplaces.
Support can include:
Policy review and gap analysis – reviewing existing policies and procedures and identifying areas for improvement.
Workplace risk assessments – helping organisations identify higher-risk roles, environments and situations and develop practical action plans.
Tailored training – providing staff, manager and leadership training on harassment, bystander intervention, responding to disclosures and creating positive workplace cultures.
Reporting and cultural audits – reviewing reporting systems, consulting with staff and helping organisations identify and address cultural or systemic concerns.
Counselling support – through RSVP’s sister organisation, GINA, counselling packages can also be arranged for employees affected by sexual violence and harassment.
The RSVP team has supported organisations including Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Aston University, West Midlands Business Festival, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, BHSF, Colmore BID and Safer Dance – Night Time Economies Project.
Income from RSVP’s consultancy and training services helps fund its vital counselling and advocacy services.
Scan the QR code or click here to see all our upcoming training sessions.
Is your organisation ready?
The move from “reasonable steps” to “all reasonable steps” is more than a change in wording. It is a prompt for employers to look closely at their workplace culture, understand where risks exist and make sure prevention is embedded in everyday practice.
RSVP can help you understand the risks, strengthen your approach and build safer workplaces.
For more information, contact trainer@rsvporg.co.uk
Reclaiming Her Strength: A Young Survivor’s Journey
Oliwia, a young survivor we supported, reached out to us after finishing university. Looking back at her extraordinary feat of earning her degree, finding her passion, and reclaiming her space as a young woman and survivor, we are beyond hopeful to see what the future brings for her.
She thanked RSVP in her final dissertation for supporting her through a difficult time. And in return, we also thank her for being a beacon of hope for every survivor who has struggled or is struggling after trauma. Healing is realising there are lighter days ahead.
Following is Oliwia’s experience in her own words:
People say turning 16 is just so sweet, but for me it wasn’t it was the worst year ever. I’ve had the worst thing happen to me that I didn’t know was possible or that men like that actually existed. Yes, you hear the stories, feels like a myth, but those disgusting creatures actually exist.
My story is that I was raped, sexually assaulted and threatened by the same man. Words can’t begin to describe how I felt. I was disgusted in my own skin, especially since I’d lost my virginity through rape. This wasn’t something I wanted to experience and knowing that my ‘cherry had popped’ was traumatising, especially at the age of 16 when all I wanted to do was become a famous actress. I lost everything, my passion for acting and drama, and isolating myself from everyone. For nine months, I didn’t want to talk about what had happened.
The first steps to healing that I was offered was therapy. Of course, the last thing you need right now was trust new people and open up about what has happened. I took the leap and started attending therapy. Yes it was scary, yes it was a nightmare at the start and yes it wasn’t because I didn’t know where to start from and open up. It felt scary but it was baby steps, coming in regularly, opening up and trusting people. It felt good letting the emotions, thoughts and the traumatising memories out.
Additionally I was given an advocate that would help with the Police and any documents that needed to be doing, help with any issues or concerns we’ve had. This was useful because my advocate was able to help me fill out a form to report the Police Officers I’ve had, and it came out they ran my case wrong from the very start.
Through out the therapy, came out my case has been closed and there won’t be a court case. I felt devastated, lost, and felt like I let myself 16 year old self down because Police didn’t do much, changed the Police officer half way through and they didn’t look at if he (the abuser) had done anything previously. When I heard the news my advocate helped me to fill out a form for someone to review my case again, and came out there was more victims and that it was going to court.
Thanks to RSVP, when I heard that it was going to court I was given extra therapy, help and advice.
Throughout the extra year and a half, my advocate was able to show me how the court will look like, help me fill out the forms if needed and be there in court for me. It felt like RSVP was just more than therapy and people, but felt like they were part of my family that supported me at my darkest points in my life. Where I thought I didn’t have any more strength, they were there to support me and told me to carry on, even at points where I’ve thought I wanted to give up on life and where I’ve felt like everything was my fault for everything that happened.
RSVP helped me realise healing didn’t have to happen all at once. They taught me recovery was about taking small steps and celebrating even the smallest achievements that felt impossible at the time. For example, something as simple as showering with music on helped distract my thoughts and made me feel more comfortable in my own skin. They encouraged patience and showed me how to make everyday tasks feel less overwhelming.
Over time these small steps made a big difference. Things that once seemed impossible gradually became manageable and I regained confidence trust and a sense of control over my life.
RSVP is more than just therapy and a place of support but will be there with you for life and I’m super grateful to have been able to get support from them.
You can follow Oliwia’s bold, vibrant life online on Instagram via her username @oliwiawudarwoicz
Thank You Curry for Charity: The Taste of Giving
In July, we were delighted to hear from Fiza and Kamran, the kind souls behind Curry For Charity. For many years, they have been supporting local and national causes, using their love language of food to do good and raise money for essential services.
Within a month, the fantastic team put together the fundraising event in support of RSVP: a heart-warming evening of delicious curries and community spirit. The taste of giving can fill every soul!
Fiza believes that food is such an underrated tool to bring together communities, to break and overcome barriers that continue to fracture our society right now.
“We started doing Curry For Charity 14 years ago, when we hardly had anything ourselves, but we didn’t let that weigh us down. We always knew we want to give back to the community in some way and we are achieving that with our love language: Food,” Fiza said.
People like Fiza and Kamran bring hope in every plate. And we feel so honoured to have them champion our cause!
We have raised £200 in support of survivors! That means 20 children can have toys or therapeutic resources to help with their healing. Or we can fund travel tickets for 36 adults so they can access our vital support services.
A big thank you to all who joined us for a wonderful dinner and helped us raise funds during such a difficult funding period in RSVP. To know more about our funding situation, check out our Recovery Appeal.
Every pound shows that survivors have a safe space, with RSVP.
Jo’s 100 Miles Dog Walking Challenge
Strengthening the RSVP Recovery Appeal is the 100 Miles Dog Walking Challenge by our dear supporter and colleague, Jo.
Joanne has taken on a brilliant challenge with her two paw-some buddies Pablo and Alfie. They are walking across various locations in the West Midlands and Wales over the month to complete a hundred miles in support of RSVP.
The challenge is running every day throughout July, with miles being added daily, on her page below.
We’re so grateful for her dedication (and her four-legged companions too!). Together, they’re putting in the miles to raise both funds and awareness for our work.
If you want to consider taking on a challenge of your own and raise funds for RSVP, we’d love to make it happen! Write to us at info@rsvporg.co.uk today.
Update: Extension due to Heat Wave
The red weather alert and high temperatures are impacting everyone in the UK, including Jo and her loving pets. That’s why the 100 Miles Dog Walking Challenge has to be paused till the weather cools down.
Read Jo’s update in her own words:
We thank Jo for sticking through this tough time, and will keep supporters posted when they are back on the walks again!
September will offer a pleasant weather to join Jo for the last few miles of the challenge. Keep a look out for her invitaton to join the trio for the final walks. Please come along, if you can, to help Jo finish strong.
Update: The RSVP Recovery Appeal Going Strong
Everyone from RSVP, and the survivors we stand alongside with, are deeply grateful for your continued support. Whether you’ve been with us for years or have only recently joined our community, thank you for choosing to stand with survivors of sexual violence.
Your solidarity strengthens our work and reminds survivors that they are not alone.
Two Months of Impact
In June, we launched our RSVP Recovery Appeal to recover from our funding crisis. We aimed to raise £5,000 by August to rebuild our vital services, and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response so far.
Thanks to your kindness and support, we’ve now reached 70% of our target. This is a fantastic milestone and a testament to the strength of the community standing alongside us, for survivors.
A big thank you! We truly couldn’t do this without you.
Extending The Appeal
Due to your generous support, we are now extending our appeal for one more month. We are very close to our goal, so let’s reach the finish line together.
If you’ve already donated, thank you. If you’ve been considering making a gift, now is the perfect time. We look forward to turn this 70% into 100%. Together, we can make our recovery a reality.
Some of our dearest supporters have taken by their own ways to fundraise in support of our Recovery Appeal. For instance, check out the 100 Miles Dog Walking Challenge by Jo here.
If you also have something in mind to support RSVP, we’d love to work with you! Write to us at info@rsvporg.co.uk today.