Services
What services does OSARCC provide?
- We offer support over the telephone to females of any age
- We offer support by email to female survivors of sexual violence and abuse.
- We run support groups for female survivors of sexual abuse and/or rape who are over the age of 18 years old. For more information please e-mail groups @ osarcc.org.uk.
- We provide information about other resources, including local solicitors, counsellors and alternative health practitioners experienced in working with survivors
- We provide help and support for those supporting a survivor (the caller can be male or female) by both email and telephone
What to expect when you contact us
The pages on our telephone support and email support services are designed to explain how we work and hopefully to alleviate any worries you have about calling. All of our services are confidential and non-judgemental. We are here to listen, not to tell you what to do.
If you are a male survivor, we can signpost you to services which are better able to support you, please call us if you would like more information.
Telephone support
Helpline Details
Call 01865 726 295 or freephone 0800 783 6294
24 Hour Answerphone: 01865 726 295
Opening times
Day | Opens | Closes |
---|---|---|
Monday | 18:30 | 21:00 |
Thursday | 18:30 | 21:00 |
Friday | 11:30 | 14:00 |
Sunday | 18:00 | 20:30 |
What to expect when you call
When you call the OSARCC phone line, a trained volunteer will be there to support you and give you the chance to talk about whatever is on your mind in complete confidence. If you call outside our line times (or if the line is busy), you will be able to listen to our answerphone message and then leave a message for us to call you back if you wish.
This page is designed to explain how we work and to hopefully alleviate any worries you have about calling.
We offer a non-directive and non-judgemental listening service
By ‘non-directive’, we mean that we won’t impose our views on you about your decisions and we won’t try to influence you to make a particular choice. By ‘non-judgemental’, we mean that we will not judge you and will respect your decisions. Our role is not to give you advice or counselling; we want to give you space to talk about whatever is on your mind. We will listen and may ask questions, and if you want us to we will give you details of external resources you may find useful.
Our volunteer lineworkers are part of a collective of women
We are people who:
- Care about your problems
- Have received training in the issues surrounding rape and sexual abuse
- Know that it takes courage to call us
- Will believe you
- Are not easily shocked
Our service is confidential
You don't have to give us your name or any other information about you. We don’t trace calls, so unless you give us identifying information (such as your full name or address) you will remain anonymous.
We won’t repeat anything you tell us to anybody outside the collective. Details of calls are shared within OSARCC - we make notes about each call, and information is shared between collective members and the OSARCC supervisor - but we are very careful to make sure that this information is not passed on to anybody else.
We will only break confidentiality if you give us your express permission to, or if you've given us identifying information and we're concerned for your (or somebody else's) safety.
Your first call can be as long or as short as you wish
We take initial calls that are just a few minutes long and others that are up to an hour - you are free to stay on the phone for as long as you like and can end the call at any point. If it is getting close to our closing time we'll let you know so that you can use the final few minutes however you want to.
There is no limit to the number of times you call us and we will speak to you for up to an hour on each occasion. Women and girls who call us regularly are welcome to call us for up to an hour each week, if we move to this limit we will give you notice and explain it to you. This hour could be used as one hour-long call, or split into several shorter sessions over the week - you can decide. If you decide not to call us for a while, this is ok too - you will be welcome to call again in the future.
Who can call?
- Women and girls who are currently experiencing sexual abuse or harassment
- Women and girls who have recently been raped or sexually assaulted
- Women and girls who experienced any of the above in the past, no matter how long ago it happened
- Partners, family and friends of people who have been raped or sexually abused
We do not currently offer ongoing support to men who have suffered or are suffering sexual abuse. If you are a male survivor, we can signpost you to services which are better able to support you, please call us if you would like more information.
What if I don’t get through when I call?
If you have called outside the line times, leave a message with your name and number, and we will try to call you back the next time we are open. If you’ve called when the line is open and haven’t got through, keep trying. If you still don't get through, call back the next time the line is open or leave a message on our answerphone.
Email support
If you would like to receive support by email, please contact us at:
support @ osarcc.org.uk
What to expect when you email us
You will receive an automatic reply acknowledging your message so that you know it has been received. We aim to respond to your message within 7 working days. If you need a quicker response then please phone us.
Our email support service is run by a team of volunteers. Therefore we cannot guarantee that the same person will reply if you email us more than once.
We don't save emails for more than one month, so you may like to include previous information that you have shared with us in the text of your email, if this would be helpful to you. If you have additional information that you want to share with us, please copy the information into the main body of the email as we are unable to open attachments sent to us.
Confidentiality policy
As with our telephone service, our email support service is confidential. You don't have to give us your name or any other information about you. Unless you give us identifying information (such as your full name or address) you will remain anonymous except for your email address. We will not disclose your emails to anyone outside of OSARCC and regularly delete all emails that we receive.
We won’t repeat anything you tell us about your personal situation to anybody outside of OSARCC. We sometimes like to use feedback or comments about our service in our publicity, fundraising material and reports to our supporters. This is always done anonymously. If you make any such comments and do not want us to share them with other people, then please let us know in your email.
Details of emails may be shared within OSARCC as part of our confidential supervision support.
We will only break confidentiality if you give us your express permission to, or if you've given us identifying information and we're concerned for your (or somebody else's) safety.
Internet safety
If you contact us by email, we will know what email address you contacted us from. If you do not want us to know your real email address you could set up a free anonymous email address and use it to correspond with us. Companies such as HUSH (hushmail.com), Yahoo and Hotmail supply free email addresses. Our internet safety page has more pointers on hiding your tracks online.
Support group
Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre run a Support Group service to provide a safe and inclusive space where survivors of sexual abuse and rape can work towards recovery, drawing on strength and support from other survivors coming to terms with similar issues.
There are no criteria for joining this group other than being a woman over the age of eighteen years old who is a survivor of sexual abuse and/or rape, whether in the past or recently, as a child or as an adult.
If you interested in joining this Support Group please e-mail groups @ osarcc.org.uk or either text or telephone 07506 412422.
All queries will be treated in confidence by our Facilitator and your details will not be shared with any other organisation.
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