Over £980,000 to support victims
Victims and survivors of sexual violence and domestic abuse will benefit from extra support thanks to £980,000 of Ministry of Justice funding awarded by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley.
This money will fund third sector organisations, charitable and social enterprises and public bodies which provide support services to help victims of domestic abuse and/or sexual violence.
The funding encompasses:
- £422,072 awarded for a two year period to six organisations for the recruitment and training of Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs).
- £558,919 awarded as uplift funding to 22 organisations for one year; funding areas such as staff costs (including ISVA/IDVA provision and support workers), training, group work and counselling support.
Matthew Barber, Police and Crime Commissioner said “We have some exceptional organisations supporting victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence in the Thames Valley and I am delighted to be able to award this funding which will make a huge difference to them and ultimately the victims and survivors they work with. Increasing specialist service provision will give victims better access to much needed support to help them recover from the harm they’ve experienced.
“Some of the posts funded are dedicated to supporting particular groups who for a range of reasons can be less likely to access support such as men, disabled victims and victims within LGBTQ+ and BAMER communities. A focus of the ISVA/IDVA fund to increase tailored provision for these groups will, I hope, result in services being better resourced to meet victims’ specific needs”.
Recipients of the funding include:
- Oxfordshire Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre and MK-Act to develop IDVA provision to work with elderly and disabled clients
- LGBT+ organisation Support U to provide an ISVA/IDVA to work with LGBT+ victims across the Thames Valley
- Sunrise Multicultural Project to recruit an IDVA to work with BAMER communities and Reducing the Risk to develop training and engagement to encourage further BAMER clients to access support.
- Aylesbury Vale and Milton Keynes Sexual Assault and Abuse Support Service and Trust House Reading to develop ISVA and IDVA provision to support male victims with Mankind also funded to deliver support groups for male victims of domestic abuse.
- SAFE! to increase both ISVA and IDVA support for children aged 5 -18 who have experienced sexual or domestic abuse.
The Ministry of Justice funding has been awarded following a Needs Assessment carried out by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
This funding is in addition to the 2021/22 core Victims Services Grant of over £2.8m awarded to the PCC to support victims of crime across the Thames Valley.
