The Top 5 UK Sexual Abuse Charities

According to a report by Rape Crisis, there is around 85,000 women and around 12,000 men raped in England and Wales every year. This equates to about 11 rapes every hour. And these statistics are based on adult rapes only. In the UK, we are fortunate to have many charities and organisations that are dedicated to helping those who have experienced sexual abuse and assault, and helping victims claim sexual abuse compensation.

Below we have put together a list of 5 of the top sexual abuse charities in the UK, that are focused on helping victims of sexual assault and rape:

  1. Rape Crisis England and Wales

Rape Crisis England & Wales is one of the most well-known organisations focusing on sexual abuse in the UK. They started off with their first Rape Crisis Centre opening in 1973. They describe themselves as a feminist organisation that exists to promote the needs and rights of those females who have experienced sexual violence. They are completely dedicated to improving services available to help and support them. Their ultimate aim is to eliminate sexual violence completely in the UK. It is an extremely well-known organisation, with almost 9 million visits to their website just this year.

There are several Rape Crisis centres across the UK that work autonomously and come under the larger umbrella body of the Rape Crisis England and Wales. Their aim is to increase awareness around sexual violence both in the local and wider community within the UK.

At the moment, there are 45 Rape Crisis Centres which serve 56 locations across the UK. The centres are all women-led, and provide support and counselling services in a safe space. There are also specific spaces that male sexual violence survivors can visit.

  1. Safeline

Since its conception in 1994, Safeline has been working hard towards the prevention of sexual abuse and to help support those who have been affected. They provide a wide range of services including:

  • Counselling services, via phone, online, or face to face. This includes therapies like drama or art therapy.
  • Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs). These advisors offer support to those who have reported their abuse to the police.
  • Online, text, and telephone helplines. These are available for those seeking information, advice, or support following their sexual abuse or rape. It can also be used by those who know someone who has been affected.
  • Projects focusing on prevention such as mentoring and support groups. They also offer training so that others can help with prevention of sexual in their communities.
  1. NSPCC

The NSPCC is the biggest charity in the UK that is focussed on dealing with and preventing the abuse of children and cruelty towards children. Though the NSPCC is not focussed solely on sexual abuse for children, that is a big part of what they deal with.   As the NSPCC states on their website, 1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexual abused. They have also created this helpful guide on what constitutes sexual child abuse.

The organisation has helped lots of families in the UK through their telephone helplines, which enable those children who have experienced sexual abuse to speak to someone in confidence.

  1. Survivors UK – Male rape and sexual abuse

Survivors UK is a UK organisation focused on helping males who have been the victim of rape or sexual abuse. They are dedicated to raising awareness around the fact that males can also suffer from this experience. Based in East London, their services include a national helping, individual counselling, and group counselling sessions. They also offer training to those organisations that are working with adult male survivors of sexual abuse.

  1. The Survivors Trust

The Survivors Trust is one of the biggest sexual abuse organisations in the UK. Their core aim is to support and empower who have survived rape and sexual abuse at any point in their lives. They try to achieve this by awareness raising, and providing a voice and networking opportunities for their members.

Under the umbrella of The Survivors Trust are 130 specialist organisations that have been set up to support those who have experienced sexual abuse across the UK and Ireland.  These member organisations are focused on providing direct services for survivors, including counselling, helplines, and advocacy services. They are not restricted to any gender or age.