The Survivors Trust is a national umbrella agency for over 125 specialist voluntary sector agencies throughout the UK and Ireland providing a range of counselling, therapeutic and support services working with women, men and children who are victims/survivors of rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

, sexual violence

Sexual violence

Sexual violence occurs throughout the world, although in most countries there has been little research conducted on the problem. Due to the private nature of sexual violence, estimating the extent of the problem is difficult...

 and sexual abuse

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...

.The organisation aims to offer a national collective voice to support and empower survivor groups, to educate and inform acknowledgment of and response to sexual abuse on a local and national level.

About

The origins of The Survivors Trust go back to 1999/2000 when key individuals within five specialist support agencies began to actively seek a peer group.
The Survivors Trust became a registered charity in 2005 and since then has continued to develop new partnerships and to work at a national level. As at 2008, The Survivors Trust has over 120 member groups.
As a charitable organisation The Survivors Trust has received funding from the Victims Fund and the UK Government to carry out its work, among other sources. The UK Government Home Office

Home Office

The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...

 has also recognised The Survivors Trust as one of the main umbrella groups which provides support to the sexual violence and abuse voluntary sector in the UK and representatives from The Survivors Trust sit on the Stakeholder Advisory Group on Sexual Violence and Abuse - an advisory group to the UK Government.

Core aims

The mains aims of The Survivors Trust are to support and empower survivors of rape, sexual violence and/or childhood sexual abuse through:
- Providing a collective voice and peer networking for members;

- Raising awareness about sexual abuse and/or rape and its effects on survivors, their supporters and society at large

- Informing acknowledgement of, and effective responses to, rape and sexual abuse on a local, regional and national level.

External links

• The Survivors Trust, Official website of The Survivors Trust
• Home Office Crime and Victims - Sexual Offences, Information about the UK Home Office Sexual Offences Unit
• Directory and Books Services (DABS), DABS is a specialist book and information service for people who are overcoming childhood abuse, sexual abuse, or domestic violence
  Domestic violence
  Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
  
  , and for those who live or work with survivors.