Sexual abuse charity celebrates anniversary milestone

Sexual abuse charity SV2 has held a special team event to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

The charity, which supports anyone who has experienced sexual abuse, was originally known as Derbyshire Rape Crisis.

Today, it operates across the county in dedicated premises and community hubs, supporting adults and children of all genders, regardless of when their experience of sexual abuse occurred and whether or not they have reported the crime to police.

The charity supported 4,210 children, young people and adults between April 2023 and March 2024 through a range of services including ISVA support through the criminal justice system, counselling and therapy.

Through education and professional training events 5,705 delegates were educated around sexual abuse.

Recently, the SV2 team, past and present trustees and volunteers came together to highlight the progress made over the past 30 years and discuss how they can work in the future to achieve their aims.

The event was attended by guest of honour, the High Sheriff of Derbyshire Ian Morgan OBE.

Rachel Morris, chief executive of SV2, said: “It is important that we celebrated our 30th anniversary milestone and the impact we continue to make across Derbyshire to support and empower the victims, inform the public and protect future generations.

“There have been many positive changes over the past 30 years in terms of how the criminal justice system and society in general treats and regards victims of sexual abuse.

“People of all genders and ages are also now more confident to report such crimes and seek support than when the charity first started.

“Our anniversary event was therefore an important time to reflect on what we have achieved, thank everyone involved and recognise colleagues through long service awards.

“It was also an opportunity for the whole team to map out what needs to be done in future years to cope with the increased demand for our services and how we can better protect and support victims and their families.

“We also focused on new ways of raising awareness and educating young people about the issues that affect so many people’s lives across our diverse communities in the city and county.”

Mr Morgan said: “I was delighted to meet the SV2 team and congratulate them on their 30th anniversary.

“They are such a positive, friendly team doing amazing, essential work in supporting victims of crime and helping them to re-build their lives.

“The numbers of victims SV2 assist each year are quite staggering in themselves, but their impact goes much further of course because the victims’ friends, relatives and colleagues also benefit from their outstanding work. Here’s to the next 30 years.”