Safeline – Preventing sexual abuse & rape & supporting those affected

Guest Article provided by Tina Le Moal, Head of ISVA and ChISVA Services, Independent Sexual Violence Advocate

Helping people find their voice for 30 years

Safeline has been supporting survivors of sexual abuse across Warwickshire and Coventry for over 30 years. Our Independent Sexual Violence Advocates walk alongside survivors through every stage of what is often the hardest period of their lives. 

We are based in the heart of Warwick town centre, not on the outskirts, but right in the middle of the community we serve. We believe that’s exactly where this issue belongs, in plain sight, taken seriously, and met with the specialist support it demands.

Too often, survivors are still forced to defend their truth. The burden of proof and scrutiny remains unfairly placed on the people who have already suffered trauma. We are seeing cases collapse, processes dragging on for years, and in the middle of all of it, there’s a person who just wants to be believed, supported, and given a fair chance at justice.

Somewhere along that journey comes compensation, a crucial victim's right, and yet it remains something of a forbidden fruit. It’s rarely discussed, often misunderstood, and almost never talked about in terms of what it means to a survivor.

For survivors, compensation is rarely about money. Practically, it can open doors to services, support and stability that survivors would otherwise simply not be able to access.  Emotionally, it’s validation. It’s the system saying, formally and on record, that what happened to you was real, that you were not to blame, and that your suffering is acknowledged. Research tells us that survivors who receive compensation are more likely to feel a sense of justice, even where there has been no criminal conviction. Being believed, and being awarded something in recognition of that belief, can be genuinely restorative. Being refused, on the other hand, can feel like another rejection in a long line of them.

However, accessing compensation is not straightforward. We understand the effects of trauma, including a person's ability to concentrate, retain information, and navigate complex administrative processes. The application itself can be re-traumatising, particularly when survivors are met with bureaucracy, long delays, and a process that feels more interested in procedure than in the person. Without the right support alongside them, many survivors never make it through, others do, but at significant personal cost.

This is where the joined-up nature of our partnership with Jordans makes a positive difference. Survivors don’t have to face that process alone or find their own way between emotional support and legal guidance. Our advocates and Jordan’s team work side by side, so the burden of navigating a complex system is shared by people who are trained, experienced, and genuinely invested in the outcome.

When we refer someone to Jordans we are not just pointing them in a direction. We are placing our trust in another team to hold that person with the same care we would. That’s not a decision we take lightly, and it’s not a trust that Jordans have ever let us down on.

We have worked alongside many organisations over the years. The best partnerships are built on a shared measure of success, not in cases, but in people. 

Safeline’s reach extends beyond Warwickshire and Coventry. We run a National Telephone and Online Counselling Service for survivors of child sexual abuse and a National Male Helpline, because the need for specialist support does not stop at county borders. Wherever a survivor is, we want them to know that someone is there.