Child Independent Sexual Violence Advocacy
As part of the South Yorkshire Sexual Violence Partnership, the CHISVA service offers practical help, advice & information for victims of rape and sexual abuse who are aged under 18, and non-offending family members
Who is the CHISVA service for?
The CHISVA service helps anyone who has been the victim of unwanted sexual contact. If you have been raped or sexually abused at any time in your life, we can offer you practical support to deal with your circumstances. Our aim is to help give you the confidence, support and information you need to take control of your situation and move forward. A CHISVA has received specialist training to support families, parents and children has Police Vetting clearance and DBS checks.
In order to ensure safety, if anything is disclosed to us by someone aged under 18 that is not known to the Police or Social Services, we are duty bound to report this (see safeguarding flowchart)
What does the CHISVA do?
Your individual worker will listen to you and find out what your needs are. He or she will then help you to access support from other agencies, such as:
- Health services & Emotional wellbeing
- Liaising with schools & education
- Housing
- Counselling
If you are under 13 we may require a parent/guardian to consent to support and both service agreements are available here: Parent/Guardian consent & CHISVA Client consent.
If you decide to report the matter your worker will help you through the whole process, including working with the Police and the rest of the criminal justice system. Examples of the type of support we will provide include:
- Liaising with the police, courts, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and other public agencies
- Keeping you informed of developments in your case
- Advocating on your behalf
- Supporting you before and during any court case
The South Yorkshire Sexual Violence Partnership
The South Yorkshire Sexual Violence Partnership is funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to deliver the Independent Sexual Violence Advocacy (ISVA) Service across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
The South Yorkshire Sexual Violence Partnership (SYSVP) consists of three specialist sexual violence providers:
· Barnsley Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Service (BSARCS)
· Doncaster Rape & Sexual Abuse Counselling Service (DRASACS)
· Rotherham Abuse, Advocacy and Counselling Service (Rothacs)
The Independent Sexual Violence Advocates (ISVA) offer independent, confidential help and emotional support to adults and children, living in South Yorkshire, who have experienced sexual harm at any time in their lives and who have reported, or are considering reporting, their experience to the police.
For those that are considering reporting, we know that the idea of talking to the Police about what happened to you or giving evidence in court can be frightening and overwhelming, but we also know that survivors of sexual violence want and deserve justice.
You can report incidents of sexual harm to the police whether they happened recently or a long time ago. We recommend that if you are considering reporting your experiences that you contact us as we understand that this can be a very difficult decision, particularly if you’re not familiar with the criminal justice process.
More information including a link to the referral form can be found here;
Making a referral:
If you would like to refer someone or yourself into the service, please complete the secure form (link below) and the details will be passed securely to a CHISVA who will make contact within 48 hours:
- if you need help completing the form or wish to discuss a referral for ISVA support, please contact the referral hub on 01226 320140.
- if you want to learn more about the ISVA service then to follow the link to the partnerships website https://www.syisva.org.uk/
