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#ITSNOTOK: Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week 2019

Last week saw the third annual #itsnotok week, created to raise awareness about all forms of sexual violence – alongside the message that it’s simply unacceptable. From the 4th to the 10th February, survivors and organisations made noise about the reality of sexual violence, from busting commonly-held myths to boosting ways we can all support survivors.

Here’s what we had to say last week:

#ITSNOTOK:

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 #ITSNOTOK Reading List:

How we can all support survivors:

We know that a lot of the messages around sexual violence can feel overwhelming. We thought we’d end the week by thinking about what we can all do to support survivors of sexual violence and push for much-needed change.

1 in 5 women in England & Wales have survived some form of sexual violence. Marginalised groups, such as women of colour, disabled women and LGBTQ+ people, experience sexual violence at much higher rates. This means it’s almost certain that someone in your life is a survivor.

When someone tells you that they were abused, you need to be aware that doing this is an enormous step for them. It means that they are trusting you to hold this information and it is important to offer your wholehearted support without taking over. Survivors will be familiar with feelings of powerlessness and they need to feel in control now.

Survivors will need you:

👂 to listen
💞 to believe
🌳 to help them understand it was not their fault
🌻 to validate their feelings
🗺 to respect whatever they need going forward

Supporting survivors means:

❌ never blaming them
❌ never doubting what they are telling you
❌ never centering yourself and your feelings
❌ never assuming you know what’s best for them
❌ never pushing them to tell anyone if they don’t want to

There are other things you can do to support ending sexual violence in all its forms!

🗣 Call people out! Hold those around you accountable for their language & their harmful behaviour
💰 Donate your money, if you’re able
⏲ Donate your time and skills!
⬆ Boost campaigns

Survivors might not be ready to talk about what happened, but if they ask you to look for support services there is:

There’s incredible work being done by so many people to end violence and support survivors. Follow them, support them!

✨ Galop
✨ Survivors UK 
✨ Rape Crisis England & Wales 
 Imkaan
✨ Women for Refugee Women 
✨ Good Night Out Campaign
✨ Sisters Uncut 
✨ Hollaback! London 
✨ Solidarity Not Silence 

Support Documents

Click here to view our support documents. Each document is available as a PDF download.

Safe Browsing

Your privacy is important to us. Click here to learn ways to hide your visit to the Rape Crisis web site.