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Advocacy Counselling Helpline

Helpline

FREEPHONE – 0808 802 3344 EMAIL – support [at] sarsvl.org.uk TEXT –  07860022880

Non judgemental, listening, emotional support.

You can call, text, or email. This service is confidential and anonymous.

FREEPHONE – 0808 802 3344

EMAIL – support [at] sarsvl.org.uk

TEXT –  07860022880

The SARSVL helpline is here to support women and girls 13+ affected by sexual violence, at any time in their lives. Something might have happened yesterday, or maybe years ago. We define sexual violence as a continuum which starts from verbal misogynistic harassment or “banter”, to unwanted touching, to rape. There is no right way to come to the helpline and everyone feels differently after experiencing sexual violence.

Whatever you feel, whether angry, or ashamed, or scared, or betrayed, or overwhelmed, or numb (or none of the above!), this space is for you. We’re here to listen and support you. Whatever you do or don’t feel is OK and talking to SARSVL might help.

We offer confidential and anonymous emotional support to women and girls 13+ by telephone, text and email during our opening times.

The SARSVL Helpline is not a crisis number. If you need urgent help or you have concerns about someone else’s immediate safety, please contact emergency services (999).

More about the Helpline Services:

FREEPHONE – 0808 802 3344
We are open: Mondays 12-2pm / Tuesdays 8-10pm / Wednesdays 6-8pm / Thursdays 2-4pm / Sundays 6.30-8.30pm.

Winter opening updates: The SARSVL helpline will be closed on Thursday 21st Dec, Sunday 24th Dec, Monday 25th Dec, Sunday 31st Dec and Monday 1st Jan.

Our helpline provides emotional support and signposting to other services. If you call us we can respond to you but we do not have access to your phone number. We can only get your phone number if you decide to tell us what it is over the phone, in a text, or in the body of an email.

It is free to call SARSVL’s telephone helpline service from any number, whether you’re calling from a landline or a mobile. This means that if you call us our number will never show on your phone bills.

Your call should be answered immediately during our opening times, unless we’re on another call. If we’re closed or on another call you can leave us a message and we’ll call you back.

EMAIL – support [at] sarsvl.org.uk
You can email us directly, and we will aim to respond within 5 days. If you email us, we can respond to you but we do not have access to your email address. We can only get your email address if you decide to tell us what it is over the phone, in a text or in the body of an email.

If you think that someone else might be able to read your emails or check the account you usually send emails from, you might want to set up a new account just for contacting SARSVL.

TEXT –  07860022880
If you text us, charges may apply. We aim to respond to text messages within four days. If you text us, we can respond to you but we do not have access to your phone number. We can only get your phone number if you decide to tell us what it is over the phone, in a text or in the body of an email.

Please note our Helpline Volunteers often support each other by working in tandem.  This means that there might be more than one person listening in on the call, however, you always will be supported by a dedicated volunteer.

If you are 16 and over, you can also contact the Rape Crisis England & Wales national online chat – find out more here.

Under 18?

The SARSVL helpline supports girls who are 13 years old or over, who have been affected by sexual violence at any point in their lives. If you are 12 or under and you ring our helpline, we will signpost you to Childline – a specialist service specifically for supporting children who can give you the support you need.

You can speak about whatever you want on the helpline, we are here to listen to and support you. We might ask you your age when you call, this is so we can let you know about our child protection and confidentiality policies.

Our helpline is confidential, and if you’d like to know more about that before you call, you can read our ‘quick guide to confidentiality for young people’ here. Reading this can help you decide how much you might feel comfortable sharing with us. This way we can support you in the way that you would like us to.

 

Whatever happened to you, whenever it happened, wherever it happened, we are here to support you.

Call our helpline free on
0808 802 3344

Your call should be answered immediately during our helpline opening times, unless we’re on another call. If we’re closed or on another call you can leave us a message and we’ll call you back.