Campaign overview

This is a national campaign to raise awareness of sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) and encourage victims and survivors of sexual assault and abuse to seek help. The campaign is being delivered in response to the significant rise in domestic abuse and to support those that have suffered sexual assault and abuse in non-domestic settings who may not have sought support since the start of the pandemic, particularly during periods of lock down.

The number of people accessing SARCs halved after the first lockdown compared with the previous year, despite official figures showing that domestic abuse and sexual assault and abuse increased. This campaign is an opportunity to raise awareness of SARCs and support victims and survivors to come forward to receive the specialist care and support they need.

The overarching aim of the campaign is to increase the use of SARCs by people who need them, with a key focus on the following audiences, who we know can be at risk of sexual assault and abuse, yet in many cases do not come forward for help if this happens.

• Women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities aged 18-33
• Men aged 18-25
• Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and related communities aged 18-33

Key messages

More information to follow.

Digital campaign toolkit

More information to follow.