Please read the information below as we explain how we deliver our services and what that means in practice. We have put some questions and answers based on the connected issues of sex and gender as these have been asked of organisations in the Violence Against Women sector in Scotland.
We are referring a female survivor of sexual abuse that was perpetrated by a man, they are anxious about coming to LRCC for an appointment, will they bump into men who are waiting to be seen, how does it work? The first thing that happens is a telephone call to find out a little bit of information, to let someone know how we can help and if they are eligible for our services. We then offer an introductory appointment usually within 10-14 days, these are mostly in person, but we do virtual appointments too. All our centre appointments are planned at different times of the day, so that people don’t arrive at the door at the same time. We don’t have a communal waiting area; service users are taken straight to the support room to meet with a worker, so for confidentiality reasons it helps everyone feel more reassured.
Are there times when men using the building too? All appointments with men are planned at a time when there are no other appointments taking place, as the number of male service users are so small we can’t block times of the week to have men coming for appointments. All our staff and volunteers are female (this is an occupational requirement to be employed by LRCC), and we have a female cleaner. About twice a month we support survivors to give a police statement or other justice related meeting at our building, this means survivors don’t have to go to a police station or have police in their own home. This might mean that one or more of the police staff using a room in our building is male, they are non-uniformed specialist officers in the DARIU Domestic Abuse & Rape Investigation Unit. For survivors coming for one-one sessions discussing recovery from trauma, we do everything we can to minimise users of the building coming into contact with one another, and we’ll tell people if a police statement is ongoing. We ask partners, friends or parents not to wait in our car park to help protect anonymity of all service users. We plan repairs or other disruptive events to days when there are no appointments.
Why is there a focus on women and girls? Over the 20 years we have been operating in Lanarkshire, women and girls remain the overwhelming majority of people we support; we continue to centre them in our work, and they represent an annual average of 95% of our service users. Violence against women and girls is carried out at alarming rates and the nature of sexual offences while still including physical sexually violent acts is also changing with the increase in AI generated sexualised images, ‘revenge porn’ and online abuse. The percentage of sexual offence perpetrators who are male remains at 99%.
How does LRCC support men or transgender people? Every year approximately 3-4% of our services users are men/boys and around 1% describe their gender identity in a different way, including trans or non-binary. A lot of our male service users are boys or young adults. Both our first response support and justice advocacy service are open to anyone, regardless of sex or gender. We don’t have funding in place or the demand to offer long term one-to-one emotional support sessions to male service users, but we will work with individuals to find longer term support organisations that they can access. We recognise that minoritised genders are a tiny proportion of our community (latest Scottish census records less than 1% identify as trans, including non-binary) and we are pleased that a locally representative number of people have accessed support from us and know they will be treated as individuals, with sensitivity and compassion in the aftermath of sexual violence or abuse.
Does LRCC offer single sex services? Yes. The issue of single sex services directly influences LRCC group-based activity when we are bringing people together. Group activities where we bring survivors together will include a single sex group for women only. This means we would apply the exemption as laid out in the Equality Act 2010 Equality Act 2010 – Explanatory Notes and wouldn’t be able to include transgender women. Choice and inclusion are very important in what we offer, and so, based on input from survivors, we would also offer a mixed sex open group for the same purposes, and survivors would be welcome, without judgement, to access a group that meets their needs.
There are different strong views about the topic of sex and gender, what does LRCC say on this issue? It’s clear in the last few years there’s been a lot of debate and discussion about these topics, we have faced pressure from individuals and groups to support a specific viewpoint. Our priority remains supporting survivors in a non-judgemental way; we offer a service based on need and we don’t ask about personal, political or religious views. We want people to feel that we respect difference, recognise an individual right to free speech while taking a clear anti-discriminatory approach to our work. This means we reject derogatory or discriminatory language and terms used to describe someone’s sexuality, gender identity or someone’s set of personal or religious beliefs.
We will listen, believe, and support you and try to answer any questions you have. You can access immediate support, or if you would like ongoing support, we can arrange an initial appointment.
After the initial appointment, if you choose to have support at LRCC, your name will be placed on our waiting list (about 4-6 months currently) and a support worker will contact you when a space becomes available. We offer a block of 10 support sessions over a period of 4-6 months and a follow up block of sessions if required and depending on our capacity.
You can contact us by:
Telephone: You can self-refer to our services by calling our Contact Line on 01698 527 003 (open from 9am – 4pm Monday to Thursday, 9am-3pm Fridays).
Email: You can email us at [email protected] to refer yourself to our services
How can the Contact Line help?
This is a free and confidential service for all survivors of rape and sexual abuse, their family, and friends.
We aim to provide you with the information and support you need, to allow you to make informed decisions and help you on your recovery journey.
We support people in the Lanarkshire area, and we can signpost people to local services depending on your individual needs.
Worried about confidentiality?
If we are worried about your immediate safety or the safety of someone else, then we may have to break confidentiality so we can get emergency help. We take confidentiality seriously and will only do this in exceptional circumstances. We will always try and get your consent before we pass information on. If we do not have your consent but have a duty to pass on information, we will always tell you what, and who, we are telling, and why. We will only disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to keep you safe. Parties to whom we may disclose information include the emergency and social services.
What can I expect from LRCC?
If you call us, you will:
- be supported
- be believed
- be listened to
- not be judged
- be given helpful information
- feel able to understand what is happening to you
- be given the opportunity to recover
You can also expect to:
- be in control of your decisions, you can stop support at any time
- become empowered
- see your progress
- know that you are valued and respected
- identify positive coping strategies of your choice
