Survivors of rape, sexual abuse and sexual assault in Cumbria are being asked to give their feedback about the county’s support services and how they can be improved.
A survey, produced by Cumbria’s crime commissioner Peter McCall, Safety Net and the University of Cumbria, wants to know how more people can be encouraged to access services.
Jo Birch, head of operations at Safety Net, added: “It’s crucially important that survivors feed into the development of services which support them. Only people with lived experiences of sexual assault, sexual abuse and rape can understand how to make services better.
“Additionally, providing such feedback can be empowering in its own right; helping an individual to feel something positive is resulting from their healing journey.”
Mr MCall said: “All the responses are treated as confidential, and victims to asked to rate the experience they had with the courts, victim support, any counselling services they may have received, the police and also about health, housing and children services in the county.
“It is essential to hear first-hand from people that have accessed support, about what worked for them and also about any barriers that may have put them off accessing support.
“Capturing such lived experiences help to build an accurate picture of how our support services can develop in the future. It’s only by improving that we can give more people the confidence to come forward.”
The survey is open until February 12. Visit https://cumbria.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/sexual-assault-abuse-survivor-journey-research
