New website launches to help victims of sexual abuse in North Yorkshire
It's Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week.
Victims of sexual violence in North Yorkshire are being urged not to suffer in silence, as groups across the region raise awareness.
It's Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week, and concerns have been raised about the effects of lockdown and the pandemic on survivors.
IDAS is the largest specialist charity in Yorkshire supporting anyone experiencing or affected by domestic abuse or sexual violence.
They have refuges and services in Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Scarborough, Selby and York. Their communications and engagement lead is Carmel Offord: "This week is important to get the message out there that support is available to anyone who has been affected, whether that's recently or not.
"It's a really good opportunity for us to talk about it and to talk about the myths around abuse. A week isn't really enough - unfortunately people are affected all year round. It's good that we have a focus for a week, but our advisers and teams are working all year to help people.
"There are a lot of people who are trapped behind closed doors with people who are abusing them or causing them harm.
"There are also survivors who have post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by being confined (by lockdown). There are lots of things around this situation which could be impacting victims more than other people.
"Anybody who has experienced anything like sexual abuse or sexual violence may be finding it more difficult to get in touch with people because of the pandemic. However, we are seeing people coming to us for support.
"We're supporting people through court, as courts are starting to operate. Our support is available to anybody whether they want to report their situation to the police or not".
IDAS have been operating more online since the pandemic started, but have launched a new website to help.
Carmel says: "We've launched a moving on from sexual violence group online to support people, and have launched a dedicated sexual violence website.
"It's to help people to cope and to find strategies to manage their situation. It'll also help to inform people so they can make decisions to suit them following sexual violence".
Help and guidance from the IDAS group can be found here.