SOS Rape Crisis

Who we are

SOSRC (Southend on Sea Rape Crisis) is the only specialist service in South East Essex that provides support for adults and children who have been impacted directly or indirectly by sexual violence at any time in their lives. We aim to address the trauma and injustice of sexual abuse through specialist advocacy, counselling, training, and prevention services.  

SOSRC is part of SYNERGY Essex – The Essex Rape Crisis Partnership, working closely with SERICC and Centre for Action on Rape and abuse (CARA). SYNERGY Essex is funded by the Office for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex to deliver an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) service to victims and survivors of sexual violence across Essex.

Our services are inclusive, spanning across age, gender, and background. Children as young as 4 years old can access our support, with specialised assistance available for parents of younger children. 

At SOSRC, we champion intersectional feminism, recognising and addressing the multitude of challenges faced by women and girls. Our approach acknowledges various aspects of identity, such as age, class, race, physical and mental health, among others, ensuring that our support is tailored and inclusive.

Our dedication to survivors and their communities drives everything we do. Join us on our journey towards empowerment, healing, and justice.

Our culture and values

Our Ethos

Our core ethos revolves around centering support from a trauma-informed feminist perspective, with a primary focus on girls and women. We recognise the reality that the majority of perpetrators of sexual violence are male. As a women's organisation, we stand in solidarity with all survivors, irrespective of gender.

Our commitment to feminist principles means that we prioritise the voices and experiences of those affected by sexual violence. We understand that each survivor's journey is unique, and we strive to develop and introduce services that directly respond to their expressed needs and want.

By amplifying the voices of survivors and advocating for gender equality, we actively work towards a world free from sexual violence and oppression. At SOSRC, our feminist approach informs every aspect of our support services, ensuring that we empower survivors and challenge societal norms that perpetuate violence and injustice. 

Vision

A society where women and girls are equal and free from all forms of rape and sexual abuse.  

Mission 

To alleviate the trauma and distress of women and girls who have suffered any form of sexual violence. To promote education and research in the subject of rape and its effects on the survivor.  

Values 

• Women Only Spaces - to provide a safe and supportive environment 
• Non-Judgemental Support - we do not judge 
• Commitment to Good Practice -  working inline with National Service Standards 
• Women-Led - for women by women (our services to support all genders)
• Free Services for Survivors and Victims - survivors and victims have a right to access free services 
• Believe - we believe what survivors tell us 
• Non-Directive - we do not influence survivors and victims choices 
• Empowerment - we empower survivors and victims to make their own decision

We recognise that sexual violence is both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality and that sexual violence disproportionately affects women and girls. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Anti Discriminatory Statement

SOSRC’s empowerment ethos is informed by our understanding of sexual violence as both a cause and a consequence of inequality between the sexes and our recognition of the disproportionate impact this has on women and girls. 

Our holistic, wrap-around services are open to all eligible survivors of any form of sexual violence, and their supporters, and the services we offer will continue to be shaped by the recognition that patriarchy and misogyny damage all but the most powerful in society. 

The staff team are confident to challenge any prejudice and stereotypes which come up in their work with service users or with other agencies.  In house and external training and peer support amongst colleagues all help staff members and trustees develop strategies for highlighting facts when faced with myths, especially but not only about sexual abuse and violence. 

SOSRC use data and insights to challenge victim blaming attitudes which make survivors’ lives more complex and difficult.  

SOSRC promotes equality, diversity and inclusion as a core value and is an important part of what we do as a charity. SOSRC has worked from this perspective for over a decade, developing a strong record of accomplishment in frontline service delivery, research, policy, and partnerships.

SOSRC focus on delivering specialist sexual violence and abuse services from a feminist framework by acknowledging and addressing the multifaceted layers of discrimination that impact women and girls’ experiences.  

This approach recognises that various intersecting identities such as class, age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation significantly shape how women and girls experience sexual abuse and sexual violence. 

SOSRC offers specialist services that consider these intersections, providing survivor-centred services that are sensitive to diverse local contexts and barriers faced by those who are marginalised in our local communities. 

Additionally, it involves institutional advocacy efforts aimed at challenging systemic inequalities and power structures that fail to recognise the impact of sexual violence against women and girls. By integrating a focus on prevention, trauma informed services and systemic change within a human rights / women’s rights framework. 

The importance of the CEDAW Convention is its recognition of the “impact of State policies and institutions, and other behaviours of the State as having a disproportionate impact on women, particularly minoritised women, it adopts an intersectional legislative approach recognising that the root cause of inequality for women is patriarchy interlinked as it is with capitalism, ecocide, racism and colonisation” 

SOSRC aims to create safer, more inclusive spaces for local women and girls who have been subjected to rape as a child or adult, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual domestic violence, and all other forms of sexual violence. 

SOSRC’s very existence is due to the awareness of the multiple layers of vulnerability these interconnections lead to for sexual violence survivors.  Service provision reflects our understanding that these vulnerabilities increase for those who are marginalised or minoritised. Information from our data and insights confirms that our service users are disproportionately made up of marginalised and minoritised survivors, and the way we deliver services is shaped by this.

SOSRC’s long presence and activism within our local communities has helped raise awareness of these issues and furnished us with experience and evidence which is useful in inducting staff and trustees and shaping service provision.