RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE (RASA) CENTRE LTD

Mission Statement

The aims of The Rape & Sexual Abuse (RASA) Centre are 1. To provide a free, confidential and non-judgemental support service for women and girls who have ben victims of sexual violence in Merseyside (under the trading name RASA). 2. To raise public awareness of the damaging and life-changing effects of rape and sexual abuse. In order to fulfil these aims, the objectives of The Rape & Sexual Abuse (RASA) Centre are: • To provide a service for women and girls, which includes telephone, one-to-one and group support, in women only space at designated times and at the request of the woman or girl. • To provide a telephone support service for supporters of survivors, both male and female. • To provide information and advice to other individuals and agencies to provide training and talks to external agencies in the local community to recruit volunteers. • To provide adequate training, support and supervision for staff and volunteers. • To monitor and evaluate service provision and policies on a continual basis involving staff, volunteers and women who use the service. • To work with other individuals and agencies to further the aims of The Rape & Sexual Abuse (RASA) Centre to raise funds to meet the needs of the service to identify areas of unmet need and take appropriate action. • To provide parity of service for male survivors of sexual violence, noting that such support and counselling will not encroach on the women only space of the RASA Safe House or any of the centres where RASA works in a face to face capacity with victims of sexual violence. Our Ethos • RASA Merseyside is a women-led, women-run service founded on feminist principles. We believe that by working in an all-women environment, we challenge structures that discriminate against women, providing the opportunity to empower ourselves and claim control of our own lives. • Rape and sexual abuse are crimes of violence and abuse of power, not ‘unwanted sex’. • Rape and sexual abuse are never the fault of the survivor, and we work with all survivors towards this understanding of what happened to them. • Rape and sexual abuse are gendered crimes – the majority of victims are women and children, and the majority of perpetrators are men. Sexual violence is both an expression of, and a means of enforcing and increasing, discrimination against women and gender inequality. • Because women and girls live with sexism, the degradation of the female body and the threat of sexual violence in society at large, we create and maintain women-only spaces to offer relief and safety for survivors, and for the women who work at RASA. We know that this benefits survivors and helps them to heal. • When children have experienced sexual abuse or sexual exploitation, they require specialist support. We strive to develop ways of working that help children recover from this trauma, and live happy and healthy lives. We reach out to families, schools and the wider community to raise awareness and help prevent the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people. • We know that transgender people are at increased risk of sexual violence and abuse, as well as transphobic violence. We aim to welcome all trans and non-binary gender survivors in a safe space for them, and work with other organisations locally to ensure they get the specialist support they need. • We work with men and boys to the same feminist principles, recognizing the different ways that sexual violence affects them, and offering men-only support groups for survivors facilitated by a RASA worker. At RASA we see all sexual violence as a cause and a consequence of the patriarchal societal structure we live in, acknowledging that almost all men and boys who experience sexual violence are abused by a man. As such, we believe a service working to feminist principles is well placed to help male survivors of sexual violence. • Recognising the oppression that many groups experience in today’s society, we aim to work in a non-oppressive, anti-discriminatory way with people of any race, class, culture, immigration status, nationality, faith, sexuality, gender identity, age, disability, or health status. We work towards making our service accessible and available to all, and actively seek to make links with the diverse communities in Merseyside.