Sexual Violence Top 10

1. From the perspective of survivors of sexual violence / abuse, what does recovery involve, what outcomes do they value and what factors can promote these outcomes?
2. How can survivors of sexual violence / abuse who identify as People of Colour (POC) or as members of Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups be best supported?
3. How can access to high-quality psychological therapies for survivors of sexual violence / abuse be improved?
4. What interventions with the general public could reduce misconceptions and stigmas about sexual violence / abuse and their consequences on survivors of sexual violence / abuse?
5. How can the process of police reporting and police investigation best support survivors of sexual violence / abuse and avoid retraumitisation, distress and victim-blaming attitudes?
6. What support is most helpful to and valued by survivors of sexual violence / abuse themselves?
7. How can mental health services and physical healthcare services that are likely to come into contact with survivors of sexual violence / abuse (for example, dental care, general practice, accident and emergency, intimate healthcare and pregnancy termination settings) become more ‘trauma-informed’ to best support survivors and prevent re-traumatisation?
8. How does involvement in the criminal justice system impact survivors of sexual violence / abuse (for example, their emotional and psychological well-being), and what support do they need during and in the aftermath of criminal justice proceedings?
9. How can support be more accessible, inclusive and effective for survivors of sexual violence / abuse who identify as LGBTQ+?
10. How can survivors of sexual violence / abuse be supported to report sexual violence / abuse that happened many years ago, and what services should be offered to help them recover?

The following questions were also discussed and put in order of priority at the workshop:

11. What factors influence if survivors of sexual violence / abuse feel able to disclose, report and seek support?
12. How can survivors who do not recognise their experience as sexual violence / abuse be best supported (for example, in terms of recognising what they experienced as abuse)?
13. How could we best support male survivors of sexual violence / abuse?
14. How to support survivors with complex emotions and feelings resulting from their experiences of sexual violence / abuse, such as shame, self-blame, self-criticism, anger, guilt, conflicting feelings towards perpetrators?
15. Do survivors of sexual violence / abuse value ‘same-sex’ services, and how to ensure the needs of trans, cis and non-binary identifying survivors are met within sexual violence services?
16. What talking therapies are most effective for improving the psychological and emotional consequences of sexual violence / abuse (beyond PTSD)?
17. What is the impact of working in the field of sexual violence / abuse on professionals who are survivors themselves, and how to best support them?

Document downloads

For full details of all of the questions identified by this PSP, please see the document below.