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Almost 12 months ago, Guernsey’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre became accessible to islanders for the first time.
Now with a new manager in place, the team at the SARC are looking to inform more members of the public of their availability, accessibility, and drive to provide help where it is needed the most.
Katie Thomas took over as the Manager of the sexual assault referral centre in September, taking over from Charlie Cox, who had been in place since its inception.
“I found it really rewarding," said Ms Thomas. "I think it's a great role to be in. I really want to make positive change for these people.
“In previous roles, I've seen victims of sexual assault and sexual violence come through the doors, and there was never really a very structured service that was available to them. So I think really bringing it into Willow house, and enabling them to get access to all of the services under one roof has been really good.”
Pictured: Katie Thomas, has been in the role of SARC manager since September this year.
Since introducing a helpline last year, and establishing their centre in St. Peter Port, S.A.R.C has gone on to help islanders in the triple digits.
“We've currently taken about over 120 phone calls that can be from victims of sexual offences, but it also could be from different professionals just wanting to seek help and support from the service," explained Ms Thomas. "We've had a lot of good feedback from any clients that we've already been seeing.
“We've basically undertaken about 50 forensic medical examinations, whether that be from children or adults, and also we've been taking on the toxicology bloods from the police, so anyone that's been a victim of drink or drug spiking would report to the police first, and then come here and we would do a blood test for them.”
The SARC is located in inconspicuous surroundings in the heart of St Peter Port, at Willow House at the North Plantation.
The centre itself has a varied role, not only as a base for supporting those who’ve been a victim of a sexual assault, but it also provides a safe space for many more who may be going through a traumatic time.
“It's quite a taboo subject," acknowledged Ms Thomas. "Not many people want to talk about sexual assault and sexual violence, but it does happen.
"We've really tried to build on a service that tailors to everybody's individual needs. So when they access the service, it's a 24/7, helpline that they can call up and they can speak to a crisis worker who would then triage them and decide what pathway they need to go down, whether that's referrals into what is for service, or whether they need to attend Willow house for a forensic medical examination, or anything, even just coming in for a chat, a cup of tea.
“We've got changes of clothes. We've got showers so they can have a wash. We've got care bags that they could take home if they want to, but yet they can absolutely access the service for anything they need. We've also got things like emergency contraception in house so that if they need to, and they just want to come here to access that.”
Pictured: Even traditionally medical, clinical rooms have a touch of the calming about them in their design. Emphasising that message of not addressing trauma with more trauma.
“I think we're still trying to get the word out there. Some people that we speak to still don't quite realize what service is and what we have like to offer. I think it has made a really positive impact on the Guernsey people.”
One of the biggest areas that has seen an improvement is when it comes to younger victims of sexual violence, assault, or abuse, said Ms Thomas.
The previous method of assessing and addressing the abuse of children was inadequate, and involved flying the victim off island for support, she said.
“We've had quite a rise in children's cases, and so with being an island, we're very limited to the specialist and forensic help that we can get. So it used to be that children were flown off island for any forensic medical examinations after they were a victim of sexual assault, and this then entailed a lot of people to go with them. They needed social workers, police, etc. But now we've actually brought the equipment that they need to have their examination done, and we've got it in Willow house.
Pictured: Another one of the safe spaces provided, allowing staff, police or doctors to consult with victims in a private and more calming environment.
“So that's a challenge that we've overcome, because now we can fly the doctors in to see the children.
"That's really helpful, because what's a very traumatic and daunting time for them, we can slightly minimise by them being able to be seen on island instead of having to fly them off island.”
To help the healing process of those using the services, Willow House has taken on specialist design cues. Using soft, calming colours, and specially crafting the space it feels less like a doctor's office, and more like a homely space.
“When the Willow House was designed, we did a lot of research into trauma," said Ms Thomas. "Trauma Informed areas and what works and what doesn't work. So we actually had a specialist interior designer come in to do all the design within Willow house, to try and give it that homely feeling, try and move away from that clinical aspect. So it's a lot less daunting for anyone when they come here.
“I think it helps to just relieve that stress a little bit. It's very calming. It's supposed to be quite inviting, and it's also supposed to be something that they can just come in, get themselves what they need, and then leave without really feeling that they've been for a really clinical, more traumatic experience. So that's why we moved away from that really clinical aspect of just white walls.”
Ms Thomas is under no illusion that there is still much more work to be done.
Having been appointed as the SARC Manager in September, the time for settling into the role has passed, and now she’d like to push for greater public awareness of what they do and why it is so important in Guernsey.
“We often say that if something of a sexual nature has happened to you that you did not want to happen, then we're here for you. Whether this be an acute something that's happened within the very recent few days, or whether this is a historic experience. Then again, we're here for you.
“There is different avenues that we can go down. We have got a website, which is willowhouse.gg, and that's got explanations about our services, what we've got to offer, and give some photos so that people can see what they'll be coming to before they come.
“We've also got our helpline, which is (01481) 227700.”
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