Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (SARSAS)

We wanted to showcase the ongoing hard work of our staff and volunteers over this particularly eventful year, which was why we decided to make our tree decoration a collaborative project across our team. We wanted making decorations to be an opportunity for us all to let off some steam and get into the festive spirit at the end of this bizarre and often stressful year. Therefore, all our decorations are made by staff, volunteers and their families.

All our decorations have a link to the SARSAS logo, which is a lotus flower in various shades of purple and turquoise. The reason we wanted to emphasise the lotus flower was because of its beautiful meaning. It is often considered as a symbol of self-regeneration as it is said that even in the dirtiest water it produces a beautiful flower. We believe that this is a very fitting representation of SARSAS and all our survivors.

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Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (SARSAS) is the specialist support service for survivors of rape and sexual abuse across Bristol, Bath, Somerset, North East Somerset, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire - a population of 1.6 million people. We work with women, men, children and young people covering an age range of 13-90 years old.

SARSAS exists to relieve the trauma and distress of survivors who have experienced any form of sexual violence, at any time in their lives, through the provision of trauma-informed services. Our ethos is: Listening, believing and supporting. We also campaign and educate the public about sexual violence and raise awareness of the impacts of rape and sexual abuse on the victim and wider society.

For fifteen years SARSAS has developed, grown and expanded its range of services, information and specialisms including: specialist support for women with learning disabilities, specialist complex needs work, a confidential helpline, email/online chat support, advice and support dealing with reporting and the criminal justice system. We are also founding members of the local sexual violence consortium (SVC) where we collaborate with partner organisations such as Barnardo’s and Womankind to improve the infrastructure for needs assessments, survivor pathways and training.

Over the past year, rates of sexual abuse have drastically increased due to the impact of the COVID19 pandemic. We have averaged a 20% increase in referrals each month. In addition, survivors are faced with limits in access to their usual coping mechanisms, such as going to the gym or taking part in other social activities. Some have even been locked down with their abusers. Over the last five months we have therefore adapted our approach to suit the situation by extending helpline hours and e-support, and enabling access to specialist support work and counselling virtually or on the phone. This means that our staff and volunteers have been working harder than ever to ensure that support is always available.

If you would like more information about us and our work please go to our website - https://www.sarsas.org.uk/