Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week – NHS Campaign

the NHS has launched a brand-new campaign that raises awareness of sexual assault referral centres (SARCs). These are vital, free, accessible support services for anyone who has been raped, sexually assaulted or abused. The campaign will be officially launched on Monday 7^th February in line with Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week.

With so many high-profile cases of sexual assault over the past year, a new survey of 4,000 people in England, found:

• two in five people aren’t sure where to get help after being sexually assaulted
• over half (56%) did not seek any help from any organisation or service after the incident
• 72% unaware that there are actually free, dedicated NHS specialist sexual assault services, that can offer confidential and safe support.

The campaign comes after the number of people receiving help from NHS Sexual Assault Referral Centres halved after the first lockdown compared with the previous year, despite official figures showing that domestic abuse and sexual assault increased.

Ros spoke to Dr Sara Kayat.