The study highlighted the vital role SARCs play in supporting the early needs of survivors of sexual violence and abuse.
The Multidisciplinary Evaluation of Sexual Assault Referral Centres for better Health (MESARCH) project, also underlined the importance of the centres in helping survivors access other support services such as counselling and advocacy.
The project, which is one of the UK’s most comprehensive studies into the effectiveness of SARCs and was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, placed the experiences of survivors of sexual violence at the heart of its work, analysing data from 335 people and 21 SARCs.
SARCs are often the first point of care for adults, young people and children subjected to abuse. There are more than 50 centres across England and around 30,000 survivors access them each year.
They provide survivors with crisis support, care for medical needs and sexual health, and the choice to have a forensic medical examination to collect evidence. They also help people who wish to report abuse to the police.
The project team concluded that SARCs can offer high-quality support which often makes a real difference to survivors.
They found that overall, people who accessed SARCs were positive about the support they received and reported improvements in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after one year.
However, the MESARCH team believes SARCs are under-used and too few professionals are aware of the services they offer for survivors.
Dr Grace Carter, Assistant Professor in Abuse, Trauma and Health at Coventry University’s Centre for Healthcare and Communities and co-investigator on the project, said:
“SARCs are specialised support hubs for anyone who has experienced sexual violence. In addition to the vital services they provide, they connect survivors with follow-on care for mental and sexual well-being, as well as support in accessing the justice system.
“We believe more can be done to tackle barriers to care and support for survivors of abuse, including professionals in different sectors and the general public having increased awareness of what SARCs do and where people can access them locally.
“Pivotal to the MESARCH study has been the authentic involvement of those with lived experience of sexual violence - they have shaped all aspects of the project.”
Dr Carter added that the project team hoped the study would inform NHS England’s national response to sexual assault and abuse.
A number of recommendations have arisen, including strengthening partnerships between the police, specialist sexual violence services, voluntary sector, health and social care and encouraging a focus on lifelong care for survivors.
Lorna O’Doherty, Professor of Trauma and Mental Health at Coventry University’s Centre for Healthcare and Communities, who led the project, said:
“This research also examined care and justice pathways after SARCs. It points to an urgent need to embed survivor-informed trauma awareness into the thinking and practices of statutory agencies, like the police and NHS. Survivors must be able to access timely, appropriate support, warding off the inequalities which permeate the lives of survivors. Innovation must prioritise spaces that foster healing and restoration after abuse.”
Gene Feder, Professor of Primary Care at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol and Director of VISION - The Violence, Health and Society Consortium, said:
“MESARCH generated evidence for the effectiveness of SARCs and highlighted the need to strengthen links to other services, including general practice, where the role of SARCs is often not recognised. An outstanding feature of MESARCH was the central role of people with lived experience of sexual assault in designing, conducting, and interpreting the findings of the study.”
Find out more about the MESARCH Project.
Visit SARCs, for more information about the centres, including where your nearest one is located.
Further information about support for sexual assault and abuse can be found at The Survivors Trust and Rape Crisis.