Crisis centre faces...a crisis
Tina Koenig • Published 20 Jan 2012 09:30
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A SHARP rise in the number of sexual assaults - including rape - against women in Peeblesshire has left a local charity at breaking point.
And now the Borders base of the Scottish Rape Crisis Centre is looking for more volunteers to help cope with additional demand.
Victims in Peeblesshire and the rest of the Borders have been able to talk confidentially to a support worker at the office-headquarters in Galashiels since it opened in the summer of 2010.
During the 18 months it has been open it has dealt with 77 cases.
And results of an annual report showed that Innerleithen and its surrounding area is one of the most common communities in the region where rape and assault cases have been identified.
The report also highlighted Galashiels, Hawick and Eyemouth as problem areas.
Dawn Osborne, Service Co-ordinator for the Borders branch, made an appeal for more volunteers at the end of last year.
She told the Peeblesshire News: "I had a good response and the meeting I had with those that were interested went well and I gave out 15 packs containing background information as well as information about the role of the support worker. Of the 15 given out, only four packs were returned."
Feedback suggested that the appeal for good Samaritans came at the wrong time of year - just before Christmas when people were busy and also worried about the winter weather.
Dawn and the team are again looking for more helping hands - currently there is only one volunteer in Peeblesshire.
Dawn said: "Sometimes people in the area don't want to be seen by people living in the same town as them. That's understandable as we live in a rural area and tend to know each other well.
"That's why some victims are prepared to come into the Galashiels centre because they like to get out of the area that they live in.
"The office is based in Gala but if volunteer support workers are from Peebles then they could work from there. We are very flexible as the volunteer is giving up their own time and we respect and are grateful for that.
"A volunteer listens, believes and supports the listener. Very often, whether it's historical sexual abuse, or a recent abuse the victim feels that people wouldn't believe them and society in general has a habit of blaming the victim.
"The fact that we believe, provides emotional and practical support and allows the woman or girl to talk about her experiences and how they can move on from them."
Dawn is the service's only paid full-time member of staff and essentially manages the project.
As the core of the organisation, she's in charge of helping to deliver training and raise awareness about violence against women in the region.
She added: "If you're going to become a volunteer then you'll go through the recruitment process and sign an agreement.
"It would be great to have someone giving four hours per week over a two-year period but we are pretty flexible with that.
"We have support workers that work full-time and we try to match up to their work pattern."
Anyone who would like to volunteer at the Borders Rape Crisis Centre can call 01896 661071 or email: info@sbrcc.org.uk for an application pack.
The deadline for the return of application packs is Friday, February 3.
This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 20 Jan 12
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