AGuide to the Young Person’s Independent Sexual Violence Advisory Service – Hertfordshire Sexual Assault Referral Centre.
This document is to give you information on my service so that you know what to expect and explain how we can support you.
If you have any questions regarding this service please just get in touch.
Herts SARC – 01442 270679
Email:
Website:
ce.uk 07525253961 – East Hertfordshire’s Young Person’s ISVA
07712421497 – West Hertfordshire’s Young Person’s ISVA(including Welwyn & Hatfield)
What is this service?
Throughout our time working with you we will refer to ourselves as ISVAs which stands for Independent Sexual Violence Advisor.
Our role is to work with you, to help and support you in improving your situation,help you to feel in control and to allow you to make your own decisions which you feel are right for you.
3 Things to remember…
- I can provide you with specialist support whether or not you have reported to the police.
- I can provide you with advice so you can decide whether you would like to involve the police.
- Unless you are at risk of harm, or tell me certain things, the service is confidential and other people do not have to know that you are using the service.
What can I help you with?
Criminal Justice Process (from reporting to police – court);
- Giving you advice and information on the criminal justice process so you can decide how you want the matter to be dealt with.
- If you decide to involve the police, I can support you through this process, making sure you know what is happening, speaking to the police for updates and expressing your feelings and concerns to them.
- If you are later required to attend court then we can support you with this, for example we can book for you to visit the court beforehand and we can attend court with you on the day to offer you support.
If you don’twant to involve the police, we can look at who else we can talk to about what happened to ensure safety and your peace of mind
Safety;
- Issuing you with ahandheld personal attack alarm
- Ensuring you have knowledge on how to make sure you are as safe as possible and make positive decisions around your safety
- Support in liaising with other agencies to ensure maximum safety (such as housing, reviewing security at home, ensuring safety at school etc.)
Health;
- Referring, and if needed, attending a sexual health clinic for a full STI screening.
- Provide information and advice on accessing contraception and emergency contraception
Emotional Wellbeing/support;
- Helping you to understand sexual violence and how it impacts how you think and how you feel.
- Giving details of other relevant organisations/agencies that can also support you.
- Helping you to identify when you need counselling or therapy and give you details of, refer you to, or support you in accessing these services.
- Helping you to speak to family/teachers/friends to discuss your feelings and how they can support you.
When will the service you get from me come to an end?
The service will end 3 months after the police/ court process is over and all other practical support is completed, for example, you have attended the sexual health clinic, and are receiving counselling.
Contact with the service
We work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8am – 4pm and Friday 8am – 3.30pm.
I will not always be able to answer my phone or respond to texts right away, this is because I could be with other young people, in meetings, or driving to appointments. My phone is also not on out of hours – but you can still text if you want to so I see it when I am next working.
If you need to talk, or need help and I do not get back to you as soon as you’d like, please think about who else you could reach out to, like a helpline, Kooth.com, or a friend or family member (see useful contacts below!)
We are based at the Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire, but cover the entire county, so can meet you at a place convenient and safe for you, such as your home, school, or a public place.
There are not a set number of times that we meet or a set amount of time for how long you can use the service for. It depends on what your needs are and what we are doing to support you.
Generally, I meet a client (that’s you) when you first access the service and I will identify what your needs are. I usually come away from meeting a client with a list of things to do in order to help you. I will keep you updated as I complete these things (for example, speak to the police, make a sexual health referral and give you details of local counselling)
I will then keep in touch with you via the phone or texting, and when you feel you would benefit from meeting again, or something has happened that you want to talk through (such as the police have made an arrest, or you want me to come to a meeting with you) then we arrange to meet again.
My service relies on you letting me know when you want to meet.
Confidentiality
Whether something is ‘confidential’ means whether I would tell other people what you have told me.
My role is to give you support and advice so you can make the decisions that are right for you, but I also have a duty to keep you safe.
A lot of the things we talk about will be confidential and no one else will need to be told, most certainly not in detail, however because of my duty to ensure you are safe, professionals may ask me questions about you, or I may want to speak to other professionals about you, to make sure you are as safe and as OK as you can be.
I can never promise to keep everything confidential, but I can promise to do whatever I think is in your best interests and I will always consider your feelings on that, and wherever possible, talk to you about it first.
Useful contacts
You can call child-line and talk to them about anything, and also chat to a counsellor – 0800 1111, or talk online childline.org.uk/
Life centre – free confidential/support and counselling for young people that have experienced sexual assault – 0808 8020808
Kooth.com – online advice and counselling for young people in Hertfordshire!
The police non-emergency number is 101, in an emergency 999
To contact the sexual health clinics in Hertfordshire the number is 0300 008 5522
If you are concerned about your mental health/sleeping/anxiety etc, make an appointment with your Doctor as soon as possible.
If you think you need urgent help regarding your mental health you can call an organisation called the single point of access Phone:0300 777 0707 between 0800 and 1900 hours or01438 843322between 1700 and 0800 hours.
Words that might come up and what they mean…
HERTS SARC – Sexual Assault Referral Centre – this is the building where me and the team I am in are based. This is where people come to have forensic medical examinations after telling the police they have been a victim of sexual violence (not everyone has a forensic medical examinations – it depends on lots of things, like the kind of assault it was and how long ago it happened.
NEEDS AND RISK ASSESSMENT - An assessment I complete with you when we talk on the phone or meet – I will ask you lots of question to find out what you need and if you are at risk of harm.
SAFEGUARDING – This word is used a lot by schools and children’s services, it means identifying whether there are concerns over your safety and what needs to be done to keep you safe from any kind of harm.
ABE INTERVIEW – ‘Achieving best evidence’ interview – this is a video recorded interview and is you giving the information of the sexual incident to the police so they can then investigate.
SOIT – Sexual Offenses Investigation Team – specialist police offices that investigate Sexual offenses
HALO – Specialist Officers that investigate cases of sexual exploitation.
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION – when a young person receives something, such as affection, money, drugs, alcohol, gifts in exchange for doing something of a sexual nature. Sexual exploitation is a sexual offense.
SUSPECT/PERPETRATOR/OFFENDER/DEFENDANT – all words that are used to describe the person that committed the sexual offense.
INTELLIGENCE – Information that can be given to the police anonymously – so they do not know who the person is that an offense happened to, but they do know the offender and what they did.
CPS Crown Prosecution Service - The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. They are Lawyers that will review cases and decide whether they are charged and represent cases in court.
COUNSEL/PROSECUTION – this term may be used to refer to the barrister or other legal advisor dealing with the case and prosecuting the Offender.
CCWCU – Crown court witness care unit
BAIL – whilst an offender is being investigated for a crime they may be arrested or asked to attend the police station to have an interview. They may then be released on ‘police bail’ – this means they have to report back to the police station at a date set by police and the police will review then how the crime is going to progress.
If they have been charged, they will get court bail – and have a date they need to return to court. Conditions can be attached to ‘bail’ such as ‘not to contact you’ Bail conditions end once the case has been finalised.
CHARGED – Once the police have investigated the case, a SOIT officer or the CPS will review the evidence and decide if there is strong enough evidence, and it’s in the public interest for the offender to be charged. A criminal charge is a formal accusation made by a governmental authority asserting that somebody has committed a crime
DEFENCE – a term used to describe the offender/perpetrator and their legal representatives once they have been charged.
NFA – No further actioned – where SOIT or the CPS have decided that there is not enough evidence to realistically get a conviction or it is not in the public interest to continue the case.
1ST HEARING – Once an offender has been charged with an offence they will have their first appearance at court – you are not required to attend.
PTPH – Plea & trial preparation hearing – a hearing that an offender has after they have been charged where they can enter a plea of guilty or not guilty and Lawyers and a judge will discuss what needs to be done in order for the trial to be ready on time.
TRIAL – A hearing in court where all evidence that the police have gathered as part of an investigation is heard, and a jury to then decide whether the offender is guilty of the offence they have been charged with.
‘SPECIAL MEASURES’ – if you are required to give evidence in court, ‘special measures’ may be discussed with you. It is measures that can be put in place to assist you in giving evidence, such as giving evidence via a video link in the court, or from behind a screen so you can’t see the offender
ADJOURNED – when a case is adjourned it means that they cannot deal with all matters at that court hearing and need to set another date to reconvene.
1