Local charity warns sexual assault survivors are 'waiting longer' for help in Suffolk
Suffolk Rape Crisis reports over one hundred women are currently waiting for their outreach service
"Longer waiting times sexual assault help can negatively impact those needing help."
That's the message from Suffolk Rape Crisis, which is reporting that over one hundred women are waiting for help via their outreach service.
Charlotte Hughes, a trustee at Suffolk Rape Crisis told us: "It would be naïve to think that having such a long waiting list would not put some people off."
She explained that some people don't mind waiting before engaging with the services as they can get themselves into a better head space for things like counselling, but this is not the same for everyone.
She went on to tell us they do offer temporary support for those on a waiting list: "We have a helpline, so people aren't left waiting with nothing."
How can waiting lists be reduced?
Charlotte told us there are multiple things that contribute to the waiting list and there's "no quick fix" to resolve this, but that more money would help: "In an ideal world we could hire more staff and councillors as there are not many counsellors around at the moment...
"It is a resources issue and we need to make sure we've got the structure and the policies and things in place to be able to get through the backlog of people."
Why do waiting lists need to be reduced?
Charlotte explained there are so many people who need support, including those who don't go to the police and that giving them a place where they can "have a voice" and "be believed" is vitally important:
"It's really important to women and girls who might feel that they have nowhere else to go and nowhere else to turn to."
"We have received feedback that our services have been life-changing and life-saving."
Getting support
If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this article, help is available.
Contact Rape Crisis in your nation:
Rape crisis England and Wales - 808 500 2222 - https://rapecrisis.org.uk
Rape Crisis Scotland - 08088 01 03 02 - https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk
Rape Crisis NI – 0800 0246 991 - https://rapecrisisni.org.uk
Help on the topics mentioned in this article can be found here and here.