Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week

Although the Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week is coming to an end, our work along with other organisations does not.

If you missed any of our posts throughout this past week, we want to share some of the important information in them posts.

We have recently added a Rape and Sexual Assault reporting tool to our website. Here you can report something that's happened to you, or to someone else. You can report anonymously, without giving us your details. We won't judge you; we'll treat you with respect, and we'll always put your health and wellbeing first.

Access the reporting tool here: https://bit.ly/34GSl4Q all our pages have a ‘Leave this site’ button on the right-hand side, if you ever need to use this.

As part of the awareness week, on Tuesday we shared Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s Isthisok? video, which looks to highlight and start a conversation about the behaviour a woman has to experience throughout her day and how it should not be the person receiving these comments that should change and accept the comments as a compliment or banter but it is attitude of those saying it that should change and understand the impact that their comments may have on someone.

On Thursday we shared the NHS campaign who are raising awareness of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) which are 24/7 centres that provide a safe space for anyone who has been raped, sexually assaulted, or abused. They also offer a range of NHS services including crisis care, medical examinations, emergency contraception and testing for sexually transmitted infections, and can also provide forensic medial examination if you wish to report this to us at a later date.

SV2 are based in Derby and are one of the 47 SARCs across the country offering this specialist service. You can find out more information about what they offer on their website SV2 - Supporting Victims of Sexual Violence - Home

If you are not based in Derby, or know someone who doesn’t live in Derby but would benefit from this service, please visit the NHS website Find Rape and sexual assault referral centres services - NHS (https://bit.ly/1si8uSJ)

On Friday we shared Police Scotland #Dontbethatguy video, this thought-provoking campaign aimed to reduce sexual violence towards women by encouraging men to have honest discussions about male sexual entitlement. Research from Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 1.6million people aged between 16 to 74 had experience sexual assault from 2017 to 2020, and there were four times as many female victims as there were male victims.

Statistics also showed that fewer than one in six people reported this to the police and one reason was that they were embarrassed. We want to reassure you that if you report this to us, you will be taken seriously and should not feel embarrassed and know that what happened was in no way your fault.

Although we urge anyone to report this to us, we know this can be a difficult decision, however there are many other organisations that can support you, please visit our page https://bit.ly/3AaFAd7.

You can also contact us using any of the below methods:

• Facebook – send us a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary
• Twitter – direct message our contact centre on @DerPolContact
• Website – complete the online contact form https://bit.ly/3wX8Fr3.
• Phone – call us on 101, in an emergency ring 999.