Rape & Sexual Assault

Strategy 2008-11

View Bristol's Rape and Sexual Assault Strategy 2008-11

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Overview

Safer Bristol Partnership set up a Rape & Sexual Assault Strategy Group in 2007 in response to:

• Issues outlined in our 2007 Strategic Assessment.
• Prioritisation of the national indicator in this year's Local Area Agreement (LAA).
• The issue of gender crime raised in the consultation for the Hate Crime strategy.
• The Rape & Sexual Assault Strategy Group is made up of statutory and voluntary sector partners. We have worked together to make sure that Bristol responds to the problem of rape and sexual assault, which can have a significant effect on the lives of people in our city.

The Rape & Sexual Assault Strategy Group is made up of statutory and voluntary sector partners. We have worked together to make sure that Bristol responds to the problem of rape and sexual assault, which can have a significant effect on the lives of people in our city.

This group has produced a strategy to tackle rape and sexual assault in Bristol.

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Aim

The Rape & Sexual Assault Strategy 2008-11 aims to:

• Bring more offenders to justice
• Prevent and reduce the harm caused by sexual violence
• Raise awareness of sexual violence and the harm it causes
• Take action to challenge social acceptance of sexual violence
• Develop a range of flexible and effective services which meet the needs of the victims of sexual violence

These aims are grouped together into three objectives of:

• Maximising the prevention of sexual violence

• Increasing access to support and health services

• Improving the criminal justice response to sexual violence

We have chosen to include NI 26 'Specialist support to victims of a serious sexual offence’ within our LAA, so this will be a major focus of work for the next three years. There is currently no baseline to work on, so a two-year target for this indicator will be set from April 2009.

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Key outcomes for 2008/09

• Publish the 2008-11 strategy.

• Develop an action plan to accompany the strategy.

• Create a service which supports the new Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), due to open in summer 2008.

• Develop new services to support victims of rape and sexual assault.

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