Colchester Rape Crisis Line, support for survivors of rape and child sexual abuse












 

Enquiry line
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24hr Answerphone

Please leave a message with your contact details and someone will get back to you about how CARA might be able to help you

Charity No. 1124282
Company No. 6525343

    Patron:                     
Dr Valerie Sinason

©CARA 2008
Updated: June 30, 2008

To read more and  watch a video presentation

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we are here to help survivors of rape and sexual abuse

CARA is a confidential and non-judgemental support service for women, children and young people living in north or mid Essex who have experienced rape, sexually abuse or assault either recently or in the past, either directly or indirectly.  This could have involved a stranger, friend or family member.

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Myths and Facts about Rape
Myths about rape are all about shifting the responsibility for the crime from the perpetrator to the victim. Rape and sexual assault are about power and violence, not sex. The vast majority of sexual assaults are planned carefully and are not committed because of uncontrollable sexual urges.

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Date and Acquaintance Rape
Date rape - A concept which has reached us from the U.S. Rape perpetrated within the confines of a ‘date’ situation i.e. where the woman has willingly met the man, but then at some stage has been raped.
Acquaintance rape - Rape perpetrated by a person known to the victim, but not a close friend. May be known through employment or general social contact.

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Short and Long Term Effects of Rape and Sexual Assault
The trauma experienced by women and girls following rape and/or sexual assault may manifest itself either immediately after the attack or, as is frequently the case, some long time afterwards.

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Self Harm
From our perspective, apparently self-destructive behaviour is usually in reality a survival mechanism. Self-harm is often seen as the voice of the silenced or hidden self - it is a way of demonstrating in a physical way feelings which cannot be expressed emotionally. Survivors often keep their self-inflicted injuries secret in the same way as they keep their feelings hidden.

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Childhood Sexual Abuse
It is estimated that approximately 22% of girls and 11% of boys have experienced some form of sexual abuse by the time they reach the age of 16. More than three quarters of children who are abused, know and trust their abuser, whether that may be their Father, Grandfather, Step-father, neighbour, baby-sitter or close friend of the family.

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About CARA

Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse is a confidential support service run by women for children and young people of both genders up to the age of 19 and adult women who have suffered any form of sexual violence, past or present, directly or indirectly.  We provide face-to-face counselling, support and advocacy.  This can include assistance to report the offence, to attend court or to access other necessary services.  We have dedicated projects working solely with children and young people.  At present we do not work with adult men, but their calls will be treated sympathetically and we can provide details of other organisations that can help.

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Family and Friends

If you are a friend, supporter or any other relationship apart from partner, be very clear about boundaries, the person you care about has been abused enough, boundaries must be very clear to enable the person to heal.   Don’t ask them why they didn’t fight back or do something to prevent the abuse. This kind of questioning intimates that they were in some way responsible for what happened to them. The blame must always lie with the abusers.

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Volunteers

Without the enthusiasm and dedication of our volunteers, we would not have been able to achieve as much as we have, so they need to be applauded.

What Volunteers can expect.
Formal training covering working with victims of sexual violence and specific information relevant to your particular role.

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Flashbacks

Many women who are survivors of any form of sexual violence experience flashbacks at one time or another.  Flashbacks are temporary states of remembering something painful or traumatic which has been hidden for quite some time in the subconscious mind and during a flashback; you may feel as though aspects of the rape or sexual assault are actually happening to you now.   The duration of a flashback differs and could last from a few seconds to a few hours. 

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Ritual Abuse
Most sexual abuse of children is ritualised in some way. Abusers use repetition, routine and ritual to coerce children into patterns of behaviour in order to instil fear and ensure silence. Bath-times, nursery rhymes or bedtime stories, gifts, elaborate games, dressing up, taking photographs or exchanging secrets are all tactics which abusers use to gain the trust of a new victim.

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