Elmore marks Sexual Violence Awareness Week by sharing new data

Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week (from 7th to 13th February 2022) is the UK’s annual week for promoting awareness of sexual abuse and sexual violence. 

New data from Elmore shows that 18% of all the people supported by the charity’s mental health and complex needs floating support in Oxfordshire have sexual violence recorded in their case notes in the period between January 2021 and February 2022. 

Of the 59 people with sexual violence recorded in case notes, 49 are female, highlighting the gender-based nature of sexual violence.

The data also shows that 39% of all the people supported by Elmore’s mental health and complex needs floating support services in Oxfordshire have sexual violence and/or domestic violence recorded in their case notes in the same period. 

Of the 124 people with sexual violence and/or domestic violence recorded in their case notes, 98 are female, again highlighting the gender-based nature of abuse.

Elmore delivers additional services to support victim and survivors of violence

Elmore delivers additional services, including a Domestic Abuse service as part of Family Solutions Plus, a model commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council to engage families. Through this service, Elmore has been supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse to feel safe and recover from the impacts of abuse. Elmore works with perpetrators of domestic abuse in group and individual settings to recognise, acknowledge, and change harmful and controlling behaviours. 

For Anti-Slavery Day 2021, Elmore published a major independent evaluation of its Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) service. The findings highlight that clients were aged between 17 and 50 years at the point of referral into the service and most (82%) were female. New Beginnings was found to have impacted on clients and society broadly, including support to survivors that enabled them to give evidence and secure the successful conviction of offenders, which prevented offenders from exploiting further victims and ensured that financial costs incurred in preparing a case for trial were not wasted. A podcast about the evaluation is available here.

Tom Hayes, Chief Executive of Elmore Community Services, said: “The assault and murder of Sarah Everard shows that we are living through an epidemic of violence against women and girls. Sexual Awareness Week is a powerful reminder of the dangers women face and the fear they experience daily. Elmore’s new data shows that we, as a mental health and complex needs service provider, are supporting a significant number of people. Along with our partners and communities, we are committed to making Oxfordshire a county free from all forms of gender-based violence and we will continue to do everything in our power to tackle the sexism and misogyny that lays the foundations for male violence.”

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this news story, Oxfordshire Sexual Abuse & Rape Crisis Centre (OSARCC) provides a confidential listening space on 0800 783 6294.