The Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre has received a £10,000 grant from the Lottery, enabling it to resume group meetings and continue providing services to residents of Oxford.
The award winning support service was set up as a pilot scheme last year. The group aimed to provide support for the victims of the 500 sexual offences, including 111 rapes, reported to the Oxfordshire police in 2011-12. Phone lines allow for completely anonymous calls between a few minutes or up to an hour long. Specially trained volunteers provide support that is “non-directive” and “non-judgemental”, meaning that no views will be imposed on the caller, whose decisions will be respected.
Women are offered the opportunity to meet up with others who have had similar experiences. Oxford University RAG and Oxford Brookes RAG both provided financial support in July. Fundraising activities including a bungee jump, RAG Ball, dodgeball tournament, drinks events and charity formals, all contributed towards the donation. Manager Natalie Brook said, “The generosity of students is hugely appreciated.
OSARCC relies on the support of individuals and local businesses to ensure specialist services for survivors of sexual violence are maintained”One female Oxford student, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke about her experience of rape in College. “It can be quite a subtle thing, you can agree to make out but that doesn’t mean anything more, consent can be given but can then be taken away. Sometimes the other person just doesn’t give you the time or chance to voice your opposition, or you feel an obligation after being bought drinks or spending time with them.”
She added, “Many women have an image of rape as only what happens down a dark alleyway with a stranger, this isn’t the case, especially not in student life.”Speaking about the Lottery grant, Brook said, “Specialist services for female survivors of sexual violence are rare and underfunded in Oxfordshire, despite the number of people accessing our services increasing year on year, so we are delighted to announce a continuation of the service for the next year.”
OUSU Women’s Officer, Suzanne Holsomback said, “OSARCC is important to OUSU and Oxford Students because Natalie Brook and Lisa Ward, OSARCC’s Service Manager and Volunteer Coordinator, provide expertise and wisdom in thinking through how to end sexual violence in the university. In addition, Lisa co-facilitated two Sexual Consent Facilitators Training sessions with me before Michaelmas Term. Most importantly, OSARCC provides exceptional support to students and supporters of students who are experiencing the effects of sexual violence.”
Volunteers undergo specialised training and are involved for at least 18 months. Confidentiality is emphasised. For example, the organisation’s website features a guide to clearing web browsing history and additionally an ‘escape to Google’ button to maintain discretion.
Another female student told Cherwell, “Anonymity is crucial. I’ve had experiences when I’ve been terrified to name names, there’s a disproportionate burden of proof on the victim. People should be able to say something occurred without going into any more detail than they want to go into. I’ve never felt able to talk to College about the events or how they continue to affect me.
The Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre has received a £10,000 grant from the Lottery, enabling it to resume group meetings and continue providing services to residents of Oxford.The award winning support service was set up as a pilot scheme last year.
The group aimed to provide support for the victims of the 500 sexual offences, including 111 rapes, reported to the Oxfordshire police in 2011-12. Phone lines allow for completely anonymous calls between a few minutes or up to an hour long. Specially trained volunteers provide support that is “non-directive” and “non-judgemental”, meaning that no views will be imposed on the caller, whose decisions will be respected. Women are offered the opportunity to meet up with others who have had similar experiences.
Oxford University RAG and Oxford Brookes RAG both provided financial support in July. Fundraising activities including a bungee jump, RAG Ball, dodgeball tournament, drinks events and charity formals, all contributed towards the donation. Manager Natalie Brook said, “The generosity of students is hugely appreciated. OSARCC relies on the support of individuals and local businesses to ensure specialist services for survivors of sexual violence are maintained”
One female Oxford student, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke about her experience of rape in College. “It can be quite a subtle thing, you can agree to make out but that doesn’t mean anything more, consent can be given but can then be taken away. Sometimes the other person just doesn’t give you the time or chance to voice your opposition, or you feel an obligation after being bought drinks or spending time with them.”
She added, “Many women have an image of rape as only what happens down a dark alleyway with a stranger, this isn’t the case, especially not in student life.”
Speaking about the Lottery grant, Brook said, “Specialist services for female survivors of sexual violence are rare and underfunded in Oxfordshire, despite the number of people accessing our services increasing year on year, so we are delighted to announce a continuation of the service for the next year.”
OUSU Women’s Officer, Suzanne Holsomback said, “OSARCC is important to OUSU and Oxford Students because Natalie Brook and Lisa Ward, OSARCC’s Service Manager and Volunteer Coordinator, provide expertise and wisdom in thinking through how to end sexual violence in the university. In addition, Lisa co-facilitated two Sexual Consent Facilitators Training sessions with me before Michaelmas Term. Most importantly, OSARCC provides exceptional support to students and supporters of students who are experiencing the effects of sexual violence.”
Volunteers undergo specialised training and are involved for at least 18 months. Confidentiality is emphasised. For example, the organisation’s website features a guide to clearing web browsing history and additionally an ‘escape to Google’ button to maintain discretion.
Another female student told Cherwell, “Anonymity is crucial. I’ve had experiences when I’ve been terrified to name names, there’s a disproportionate burden of proof on the victim. People should be able to say something occurred without going into any more detail than they want to go into. I’ve never felt able to talk to College about the events or how they continue to affect me.
