£200,000 extra funding for work with sexual violence victims in West Mercia
Victims and survivors of sexual violence will have access to more dedicated support after more than £200,000 of extra funding has been secured by West Mercia’s police and crime commissioner.
John Campion applied for the money from the Government for the Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) service in West Mercia.
ISVAs are specially trained to provide tailored support, advice and guidance to victims and survivors of sexual violence and abuse.
The extra funding will be split between West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC) and AXIS, which is already commissioned by Mr Campion, and used to support their specialist advisors – particularly those working with children, families and harder to reach communities, as well as victims and survivors with learning difficulties.
Mr Campion said: “Putting victims and survivors first is a promise I made when I first came into office.
"Across West Mercia ISVAs do incredible work to support victims, survivors and their families at every point in their journey.
"I am pleased the Government have also recognised this and I thank them for further supporting this invaluable work.
“I will continue to work with WMRSASC and AXIS, along with other partners, to ensure we have the right people and resources in place to help victims and survivors of sexual abuse, and their families, to cope and recover.”
