We are so excited to announce the launch of our brand-new website!
Over the past six months, we have been working with digital agency Hactar to build a bold and beautiful site that puts the needs of victims and survivors of sexual violence and abuse front and centre, empowering them and supporting them at any time of the day or night.
Even before this process started, rapecrisis.org.uk was the leading specialist sexual violence website covering England and Wales. With more than 15,000 people visiting the site every week, it was proving a vital resource – not only for victims and survivors, but also for supporters of the Rape Crisis movement and anyone else looking for accurate information about sexual violence and abuse in all its forms.
But now, with a fresh look, more welcoming feel, better ease of use and new and improved content, we hope our website will serve as even more of a helpline to those looking for support. As well as a powerful toolkit for those looking to educate themselves about sexual violence and abuse – including those who want to arm themselves with knowledge in the battle against victim blaming and misinformation.
We believe our new website meets these goals. And we really hope you do too.
Raising awareness about sexual violence and abuse
At Rape Crisis England & Wales, we raise awareness about the scale and impact of sexual violence and abuse, challenge myths and work towards ending rape culture.
Our website is a key part of this. Other high-profile sites like nhs.uk, gov.uk and bbc.co.uk all link to us as a trusted source of information and support. And journalists, students, campaigners, researchers, activists and members of the general public are all among our site’s 15,000 plus weekly visitors. Meanwhile, this number often grows even higher when there are cases of sexual violence and abuse in the news or trending on social media.
As awareness of sexual violence increases, we need to make sure that everyone has access to the facts – and we knew we needed to overhaul our website to do this crucial work.
We hope that this new site will help us to reach even more people.
You can share our improved pages on sexual violence statistics, myths about sexual violence and rape culture.
Supporting victims and survivors
Above all, however, this much-needed overhaul reflects the fact that our website provides multiple services for victims and survivors.
Not only is it a gateway through which they can find their local Rape Crisis centre or learn about contacting a Rape Crisis helpline - it’s also the only place where women and girls aged 16+ can access our Live Chat Helpline.
We also know that looking for information in itself is a key part of the journey for many victims and survivors. Whether it’s someone looking for the answer to ‘was it sexual assault?’, someone needing reassurance that what happened wasn’t her fault or someone trying to make sense of her feelings, knowledge can be hugely empowering for many women and girls who have experienced sexual violence and abuse.
Our website lets victims and survivors know that we believe them, that they are not to blame and – we hope – that they are not alone.
With all this in mind, if you know someone who might benefit from Rape Crisis information and services, please do share our site with them.
Follow us for updates
Over the coming months, we will continue to create engaging new content, including more resources to help victims and survivors. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to get updates when these go live!