Month: May 2023

LimeCulture was thrilled to host the 6^th National ISVA Conference in Leamington Spa last Thursday (11 May 2023), bringing together ISVAs from across England and Wales to share knowledge, ideas and good practice. 120 delegates were in attendance for the National Conference and included ISVAs, Managers and Commissioners from more than 35 different ISVA services. The ‘Knowledge & Network’ event was intended to provide ISVAs with the space to network with their peers, forge new relationships and reconnect with colleagues at an event dedicated to the ISVA workforce.

 

The conference was split into 5 sessions; each with a different focus relating to the work of ISVAs. In Session 1 (Knowledge Exchange), we about the programme of work completed by LimeCulture’s Holli Waterson, National ISVA Service Coordinator, as part of a project funded by the Hydrant Programme. Delegates were also able to hear from a brilliant array of speakers from 4 different ISVA Services – New Pathways, IDAS, Survivors Network and Safe Link –  who each showcased the work they are doing to meet the needs of different and diverse communities.  It is clear that ISVA services can – and are – being adapted to reach different community groups and provide flexible and innovative support solutions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Session 2, we heard about the pioneering work being done by Avon and Somerset Constabulary, CPS and Safe Link, the local ISVA Service to create new ways of working together to improve the experiences of – and outcomes for – victims/survivors. The speakers, Detective Superintendent Lisa Simpson and CEO of Safe Link, Sarah O’Leary spoke openly and honestly about the challenges they were forced to overcome in order to build professional trust and respect that now allows them to work as equal partners.

 

 

At Session 3, delegates had the privilege to hear from Lawrence Jordan, Director of Services at Marie Collins Foundation about the fast-moving landscape of technology-assisted sexual abuse, and what this might mean for ISVA services now and going forward.  This session also included input from LimeCulture’s Head of Safeguarding in Education, Maria Putz, who was able to share the learning from LimeCulture’s growing work with Schools and Colleges and how ISVA services can create and sustain strong partnerships with schools to better support children and young people.

 

 

Session 4 provided the opportunity for delegates to discuss and reflect on the changes they’ve seen in their services in recent years and share their insights and responses to emerging trends. This session focused on how ISVA services can maintain safe practice and high-quality support provision in a time of unprecedented demand.

To round off the day, we were delighted to be joined by the Rt. Hon Edward Argar, Minister of State for Victims and Sentencing to announce the winners of the LimeLight Awards  for outstanding achievements and innovation from ISVAs and ISVA services. In his keynote address, the Minister re-emphasised his commitment to the ISVA workforce and recognised how central ISVAs are to supporting victims/survivors and enabling them, if they choose, to engage in the criminal justice system.

 

 

Stephanie Reardon, LimeCulture CEO, said

‘It is always an immense privilege to spend time with ISVAs and ISVA managers and to hear about the incredible work they are doing day in, day out to support their clients. LimeCulture has always been a strong advocate for the impact of ISVAs and we are thrilled to see that this is now being increasingly recognised both locally and nationally.

At a time when the national spotlight is, rightly, firmly on how well we, as a society, support victims and survivors of sexual violence and abuse, it is an important reminder of the depth of professionalism, expertise and commitment of ISVAs and the critical role they play in ensuring victims and survivors have the information and support they need. Thank you to all our speakers and delegates for making it such an exceptional day!”

 

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Download the National ISVA Conference Programme 

Explore the training available for ISVAs from LimeCulture

“This year’s award goes to someone who has demonstrated the dedication and creativity needed to ensure children and young people are supported, not just in the criminal justice process, but in relation to safety and safeguarding. This ISVA is described as regularly ‘going above and beyond the call of duty for her young clients’ and she should be celebrated as such’.

“This year’s award goes to a manager who works tirelessly to improve the ISVA service and survivors’ experiences of the criminal justice system. This manager has worked determinedly to ensure the ISVA service is inclusive and accessible to all victims and survivors of sexual violence, developing new partnerships and pathways while remaining a supportive and approachable leader to her ISVA team. This manager has been described as a great mentor who leads by example, and is always on hand to offer a ‘listening ear’ and prioritise the team’s self-care“.

 

 

LimeCulture is delighted to launch the fourth and final resource from the National ISVA Co-ordinator (NISVAC) ISVA Resources series: The Service Justice System and working with victims and survivors of sexual violence in the Armed Forces.

The resource aims to:

• Support ISVAs to understand and navigate the Service Justice System
• Provide information on internal support services and structures
• Highlight the barriers to support and reporting for victims and survivors within the Armed Forces
• Provide good practice points and additional resources to support ISVAs in their practice.

The resource has been created in collaboration with the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Lead for the newly established Defence Serious Crime Unit and Aurora New Dawn, a service specifically commissioned to provide ISVA support to victims and survivors in the Armed Forces.

Download the resource here: The Service Justice System and working with victims and survivors of sexual violence in the Armed Forces

Holli Waterson, the National ISVA Co-ordinator, said:

“From our consultation with charity professionals, support organisations, ISVA services, and academics, we know that victims and survivors within the Armed Forces often find it difficult to access external specialist sexual violence support, including support from an ISVA. With so few referrals into local ISVA services, ISVAs told us they felt unfamiliar with the Service Justice System (SJS) and lacked confidence in supporting clients from the Forces through these processes.

It is imperative that in addition to internal support options, victims and survivors of sexual violence serving in the Armed Forces can access local, independent and specialist support, and that ISVA feel skilled and confident in meeting their needs and navigating the SJS.

Our new resource aims to support ISVAs to increase their knowledge and understanding of the SJS and the additional barriers to support for service personnel to ensure ISVA support is accessible to all victims/survivors, including those who are currently serving, or have previously served in the Armed Forces.

We hope that this resource will support ISVAs in their practice and look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Serious Crime Unit to improve the response to victims and survivors of sexual violence”.

LimeCulture would like to extend a very special thank you to all who generously gave up their time to share their knowledge and experiences and contribute to the development of this resource.

About the National ISVA Co-ordinator (NISVAC) Service

The NISVAC Service was commissioned by the Hydrant Programme between September 2020 and March 2023 to support victims/survivors of sexual abuse from identified hard-to-reach, or seldom heard, groups with a pathway into support from an ISVA service and/or access to the criminal justice system, in recognition of the additional barriers they face.

NISVAC@limeculture.co.uk

 

 

Over the last few years, a seismic shift has occurred across safeguarding in education. There has been a rapid recognition of the scale of sexual misconduct and harassment in UK schools and the urgent need to tackle this. Thousands of testimonies from young people were shared on the ‘Everyone’s Invited’ website, which triggered Ofsted’s rapid review into sexual abuse UK schools. In 2021, Ofsted found that sexual harassment occurs so frequently it has become ‘commonplace’. As a result of these findings, and subsequent changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) schools now need to ensure they are able to show that they are able to identify and respond appropriately to cases of sexual misconduct and harassment, including child-on child abuse, and importantly, take steps to prevent these incidences from occurring in the first place.

The Government made Relationships and Sex Education mandatory in 2019/20. LimeCulture believes RSE has a key role in preventing sexual misconduct and harassment. If delivered well, RSE programmes can be used to effectively address or challenge harmful attitudes and beliefs, tackle myths, stereotypes and misconceptions. We believe that RSE provides a golden opportunity to teach young people about  the importance of consent, what constitutes a healthy relationship, and importantly, how young people can access support.

However, according to data published by the Sex Education Forum published in March 2023, and three years since the Government made RSE mandatory, only 40% of young people age 16 and 17 rate their lessons as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ and nearly one in five (18%) still say their in-school RSE is ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’. Students report that they don’t learn enough about today’s most pressing issues, including pornography (58%), LGBTQ+-relevant information (54%), and healthy relationships (54%).

This is simply not good enough and means that schools and colleges are missing an important opportunity to change perceptions and challenge attitudes and behaviours. Our young people know the issues they are facing and want to be better prepared. So why is it that our schools’ RSE programmes seem to be falling short ?

At LimeCulture we think the reason is two-fold: Firstly, many schools are not listening to the views and experiences of young people or including their voice in the design of their RSE curriculum; Second, our teachers or those responsible for delivering RSE do not always feel well equipped or confident in teaching young people about sensitive topics, such as sexual misconduct and harassment.

In order to tackle the above problems, LimeCulture has developed a Preventing Sexual Misconduct in Education (PSME) Programme for young people in Key Stage 3, 4 and 5.  We have also recently developed a SEND package that provides adapted materials for young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Maria Putz ,Head of Safeguarding in Education said:

“Engaging with young people has been central to the development of LimeCulture’s PSME packages for Key Stages 3, 4, 5 and SEND. We asked a range of young people at different key stages to tell us what they want and need from their RSE lessons, and crucially we really listened to what they were telling us! 

We wanted to ensure that our PSME Programmes can empower young people and provide them with information that can assist them to make safer choices. So to do that successfully, we felt that it was important for the Programmes to focus on the issues that young people think are dealing with today or might have to deal with tomorrow. The young people we engaged with have helped us to develop content that is engaging, relevant and practical for them.

The young people we engaged with told us they wanted a safe space to talk about tricky issues and subjects that they believe are important. As such, our PSME programmes don’t shy away from some of the more sensitive topics and instead, tackle them head-on by asking young people to explore and discuss their views, and think differently about specific scenarios that are could be involved in”

In seeking to better prepare and support teachers who don’t feel well equipped to teach young people about sexual misconduct, LimeCulture has developed our PSME Programmes by using a ‘Train the Teacher’ approach.  Maria explains:

“Our Train the Teacher approach means that we don’t hand over our PSME Programmes to schools until we know that their teachers are able to deliver them properly. Our highly experienced and skilled trainers spend time helping teachers to better understand sexual misconduct and harassment and its impact, give them tools and and flexible resources to engage with young people and the issues they are facing. Essentially, we train the teachers before they go on to deliver the PSME Programmes to young people themselves.

We have found that this approach gives teachers the confidence and confidence to talk about sensitive topics with  young people. We provide teachers with the factual information and resources to use to engage young people effectively. Our trainers help teachers to feel better equipped to sensitively manage discussions effectively and sensitively challenge any misconceptions or potentially harmful beliefs.”

 LimeCulture’s PSME Programme includes a step-by-step guide for teachers and flexible resources and tools for them to use as part of their school’s RSE curriculum. Recent feedback from teachers in Cheshire include:

“A really engaging course delivered by professionals who have vast knowledge on the subject. LimeCulture  provided us with plenty of food for though and ways to tackle issues within our school. I feel much more confident about teaching young people about this subject now”

“The resources provided were clear and useful. The LimeCulture trainers were approachable, informative and fun. It is the best course I have taken part in. Thank you”

 

LimeCulture’s ‘Preventing Sexual Misconduct Education’ (PSME) programmes have been developed to provide teachers – and those delivering Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) – with the confidence and competence to engage with young people in Key Stage 3, 4 & 5 (ages 11-18) about consent, healthy relationships, sexual misconduct, body confidence, equality, and the legal framework as part of the RSE curriculum. These prevention programmes have been developed to allow flexibility in delivery through bite size sessions, with step-by-step guides, resources, and tools to support those delivering. For further information please contact schoolsandcolleges@limeculture.co.uk