Services
Children & Young People’s Services
If you’ve been subjected to any kind of sexual abuse or sexual exploitation there’s lots of practical and emotional support available to you at RSVP, and we’re ready to help you.
We have a dedicated website to children and young people’s services here https://survivorhub.co.uk
We offer help called advocacy to under 18s Our trained staff are called ISVAs and as well as supporting you, they can also help the family and friends who are supporting you.
Our ISVAs make sure your voice is heard; they will help you understand what people are saying to you and help you say what you want to say. They will make sure your needs are met and that you are listened to.
Click the link below to explore our support for adults who are supporting children & young people who have been subjected to sexual violence & abuse.
Click here to explore our Children & Young People’s Services Leaflet.
If you are 18 and over please visit our Adult Advocacy page.
We can support you by:
–Ensuring your individual views, opinions, wishes and needs are understood, respected, listened to and met by all the agencies supporting you. The Victims’ Code outlines the minimum level of service and response that you are entitled to (see below). While there is no legal requirement under the Victims’ Code for the agencies supporting you to uphold these levels, our ISVA team will advocate on your behalf to ensure that your needs are understood, respected, listened to and met by all agencies supporting you.
– Offering crisis support, or answering any question, worry or concern you might have which relates to the sexual abuse you’ve experienced.
– Giving you information and support around the criminal justice system
– Offering emotional and practical help if you have already reported to ensure you understand and receive your legal rights and entitlements, e.g. special measures in court where you give evidence from behind a screen or via a video link.
– Offering compassionate support to the people who are supporting you, your partner, family and friends, so that they can better support you.
– Talking to school or college for you.
– Arranging appointments, referring you to, or providing you with emotional support over the telephone, when you need to attend other support services, such as Umbrella Sexual Health services, young person’s services, and some types of health appointments e.g. hospital, doctors, dentists, opticians.
– Our CYP ISVAs can offer support before, during and after certain types of health appointments, which you may find distressing or triggering due to the sexual abuse you were subjected to. We can even chaperone you to some health appointments, such as intimate medical healthcare, to ensure that your needs and wishes are understood and that you don’t feel alone. If you would like to have this type of support, please call our ISVA team on 0121 643 0301 (option 2) to discuss how we can help and read more on our health support page.
– Informing you of other options you might have such as Civil Action, Criminal Injuries, Compensation Award, self-reporting, and anonymous reporting.
We can also offer you counselling. Counselling is a safe place where you can talk to people that believe you and care about your feelings. Counselling is one way of talking about how the abuse has affected you, with someone who will listen and give you space to explore the things that are bothering you. Our trained counsellors listen with empathy and sensitivity. They don’t judge; their aim is to explore feelings and to support you in the decisions you make.
Please call us, we’re happy to talk to you about other support available to you.
You can also contact the West Midlands Children and Young Persons (CYP) Service on 0808 196 2340 (lines open 24/7). This service offers comprehensive support , for 24 hours a day and 365 days of the year through their children and young people’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre. This is a ‘one-stop’ service to any child or young person under 18 years of age who has been the victim of rape, sexual violence, sexual exploitation and/or sexual abuse and who lives in West Midlands, Staffordshire, West Mercia and Warwickshire. The West Midlands CYP Service offers medical assessment; forensic examination to gather evidence; medical care and treatment and aftercare. Young people who are aged 13 and over, can make a direct self-referral to the West Midlands CYP Service without involving the police, although all referrals will have a safeguarding referral. Check this page for information on how to help a child or young person access the West Midlands CYP Service.
RSVP and Umbrella Health provide a dedicated sexual health clinic offering specialised services to support anyone aged 13 or over who has been subjected to sexual violence, abuse or exploitation at any time in their lives. Find out more about the Abuse Survivors Clinic and about their other sexual health services too.
West Midlands Regional Children & Young People Sexual Assault Service
A SARC (Sexual Assault Referral Centre) provides a safe space for anyone who has been subjected to sexual violence and abuse; this SARC provides dedicated care for children and young people subjected to sexual violence and abuse. They offer a range of services, including crisis care, medical and forensic examinations, emergency contraception and testing for sexually transmitted infections. Please click here to explore a leaflet for young people.
The Victims’ Code (2020)
The Victims’ Code is a Government document that tells you what support and information victims of crime in England and Wales should get from criminal justice agencies. These are organisations like the police and the courts. The Victims’ Code has a special section for under 18s because they should get extra support. To read The Victims’ Code, please click here for a special version adapted for under 18s.
Going to Court: a guide for 5-11 year olds
A booklet for children and young people who are going to be a witness in court. Click here to explore this booklet.
Going to Court: a guide for 12-17 year olds
A booklet for young witnesses. Click here to explore this booklet.
Interactive Courtroom
Click here to explore an interactive courtroom, where there is lots in information to help you understand what happens when you are a witness in court.
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