Support with police and courts

 

The Independent Sexual Violence Advocates service

 

We are currently open to referrals 

 

Our independant Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA's) work with women and girls aged 13 and above, who have been affected by rape and /or sexual violence at anytime in their lives and who are considering reporting or who have reported to the police.  We also have specialist ISVA support for Black, Asian and minoritised women and girls and for young women and girls aged 13yrs and up.

 

The ISVA worker can provide Information about the legal process and your rights, to help you make a decision about whether or not to report to the Police. We respect your right to choose what’s best for you.

 

If you have reported to the Police, or you choose to do so, the ISVA will support you through all the stages of the legal process, and if your case goes to court the ISVA can support you through the trial and beyond.

 

The ISVA will not tell you what to do, but will work with you at your pace, to help you make informed choices that are right for you.

 

ISVA workers can support you if you need to apply for criminal injuries compensation.

 

They can also work with you to identify other services and support you might need and help you to access those.

 

Call our helpline on 0800 448 0710 to find out more about ISVA support.

 

We have a specialist ISVA support just for young women and girls called CHISVA

 

What is a CHISVA?

 

A CHISVA is a Children and Young People's Independent Sexual Violence Advocate.  Our specialist CHISVA's provide confidetial help and support to young women and girls aged 13 and over who have experienced sexual abuse, rape and /opr sexual violence at anytime in their lives.

 

Who do we support?

Young women and girls aged 13 and over who live in the Bradford district.  We support young women and girls who are considering reporting or have reported to the Police.  If you live out of Bradford, but the trial is taking place in Bradford, we can support you at court.

 

What support do we offer

CHISVA's provide support through a police investigation and any court processes, as well as practical support, emotional support and advocacy.  We are independent, which means we are seperate to Police, school and social care.  It is always your choice if you want to have supoort from us.

 

If you do choose to have support, this may look like:

• Providing you with information to help you explore your options and decide whether you want to report to the Police or not.
• Supporting you with any Police or court processes. We can support you to attend Police interviews or court.  We will support and empower you to make decisions that are right for you and help you to understand what is happening,
• Advocating for you which means speaking on your behalf and sharing your views so that your voice is heard.
• Providing practical and emotional support, e.g. listeiong to you, giving you a space to talk about your feelings and making referrals to other agencies and supporting you at meetings.
• We do not talk about what happened to you.  Instead, we talk about the impact on your life and look at how we can support you to move forward.