Volunteers

At Trust House we have a number of different volunteering opportunities and are always on the lookout for committed people who embody our values, who can support the service through the gift of their time, expertise and dedication. Do you have a flair for fundraising, could you offer an empathic ear and some words of support to clients on the waiting list or perhaps you’re a skilled administrator, who could offer a few hours to support the day-to-day functions of the service.

As a specialist counselling support service, we offer qualified counsellor a valuable opportunity to gain experience working with survivors as a volunteer counsellor, allowing you to develop your scope of expertise, whilst benefitting the service and our clients through the use of your existing knowledge and skills.

We also offer placement opportunities to counsellors in training, once they’ve been signed off by their educational establishment as fit to practice. 

All volunteers will go through training and induction relevant to their role and will be offered on-going support for the length of their time at Trust House.

If you are interested in knowing more about our current and future volunteering opportunities, please contact us at volunteer@trusthouselancs.org. 

Trauma – Key facts and figures

Most sexual abuse isn’t reported, detected or prosecuted. It’s a crime that is usually only witnessed by the abuser and the victim.

In England and Wales

– 9% of adults experienced psychological abuse during childhood.
– 7% suffered physical abuse in childhood
– 7% suffered sexual assault in childhood
– 8% witnessed domestic violence or abuse in the home during childhood

Source: ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales, March 2016 

More than one in ten women and 3% of men in England & Wales were sexually assaulted during childhood. (ONS Crime Survey for England + Wales, March 2016)

3% of women and 1% of men suffered sexual assault by rape or penetration (including attempts) during childhood. (ONS Crime Survey for England + Wales, March 2016)

Adult survivors of child abuse are almost twice as likely to have a long-standing illness or disability compared to non-child abuse victims – 28% vs 15% – (ONS Crime Survey for England + Wales, 2016). It is not known whether they had the long-term illness or disability at the time of the child abuse or not, nor whether it was caused by the abuse. ONS Crime Survey, March 2016

It is estimated that only one in eight victims of sexual abuse come to the attention of statutory authorities (Children’s Commissioner 2015).

Traumatic life experiences can have a significant impact on people’s lives, increasing the risk of poorer physical and mental health and poorer social, educational and criminal justice outcomes. Trauma informed systems can have better outcomes for people affected by trauma (NHS Education for Scotland, May 2017).

One in three children sexually abused by an adult did not tell anyone (Radford, 2011).

Some children did disclose abuse when still young but were not heard or no action was taken (Allnock and Miller, 2013; Lampard and Marsden, 2015).

Over 90% of sexually abused children were abused by someone they knew (Radford, 2011).

There are an estimated minimum of 11 million adult survivors of contact and non-contact child sexual abuse in the UK (Radford et al).

Child sexual abuse costs the UK £3.2bn a year (Radford)

References

ONS (Office of National Statistics) Abuse during childhood: Findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, year ending March 2016 crime survey.
ONS Crime Survey, March 2016

Radford, L. et al (2011) Child abuse and neglect in the UK today NSPCC

Sneddon, H., Wager, N., Allnock, D. Responding sensitively to survivors of childhood abuse University of Bedfordshire with Victim Support, April 2016. Responding sensitively to survivors of childhood abuse

NHS Education Scotland. National Trauma Training Framework – a trauma informed approach

Focus on Survivors University Campus Suffolk and Suffolk charity Survivors in Transition, July 2016

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Wales – ACEs and their impact on health-harming behaviours in the Welsh adult population 13 January 2016
ACE 2016

Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Resilience Report by Public Health Wales, 18 January 2018. People who have experienced abuse, neglect and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as living with domestic violence during their childhood are at much greater risk of mental illness throughout life, but community support can offer protection. Sources of resilience and their moderating relationships with harms from adverse childhood experiences

Allnock, D and Miller, P. (2013) No one noticed, no one heard NSPCC

Lampard, K. and Marsden, E. (2015) Themes and lessons learned from NHS investigations into matters relating to Jimmy Savile Independent report for the Secretary of State for Health

Children’s Commissioner (November 2015) Protecting children from harm: a critical assessment of child sexual abuse in the family network in England and priorities for action

Ainscough, C. and Toon, K. (2000) Breaking Free Workbook – Practical help for survivors of child sexual abuse Sheldon Press, London.  (For suggestions of individual and group exercises).

Gilbert, P. and Proctor, S. Compassionate Mind Training for People with High Shame and Self Criticism: Overview and Pilot Study of a Group Therapy Approach in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy 13, 353-379 (2006) Wiley (free to download at http://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/Gilbert.Procter.pdf )

Herman, J.L. (1992) Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence. New York, Basic Books

Mendelsohn, M.  et al, (2011) The Trauma Recovery Group: A Guide for Practitioners, New York, The Guildford Press

van der Kolk, B. (2014) The Body Keeps the Score, Penguin Books

Winnicott, D.W (2000, first published in 1964) The Child, the Family and the Outside World  Penguin Psychology