Nottinghamshire Sexual Violence Support Services

12/06/2026

We are pleased to be partnering with Nottingham Women's Centre to support their delivery of the 'It's a Smear' campaign, which aims to ensure Smear testing across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire is trauma informed and culturally sensitive.

We are asking women and people with a cervix to let us know about their experiences of testing, good, bad, or mixed and to make suggestions on what could be done to remove barriers to testing.

This can be done in person at Nottingham Women’s Centre (Tuesday-Thursday, 11am-2pm, until Thursday 2nd July) or through our survey.

Details of the campaign are here:
https://www.nottinghamwomenscentre.com/its-a-smear-campaign/

The survey can be accessed here: https://nwcentre.com/smear

Or you can answer the survey using accessibility tools (including translation) on the Notts SVSS website: https://nottssvss.org.uk/its-a-smear-campaign/

Once the listening phase is complete, we will be collating information into a report, using findings to work with healthcare providers to improve experiences across Nottingham/shire.

We will likely be creating extra information for women to counter fears and misconceptions and empower women to get the care they need.

12/06/2026

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps us see that difficult thoughts, feelings, memories, and urges are normal parts of being human.

Instead of trying to change or avoid these experiences, ACT teaches us to respond differently so they have less control over our lives.

A useful resource from the Practical Development Unit has been developed using ACT to help people cope with stress, regulate emotions, and stay grounded in the present.

Created with psychologists from Framework Charity, Nottingham Recovery Network, Al Hurraya and the University of Nottingham, it intentionally draws upon suggestions that are free or low cost to implement, to benefit a wide audience.

Find out more here:

https://www.nottinghamcvs.co.uk/projects/practice-development-unit/resources/stress-and-trauma-pack

11/06/2026

Nottinghamshire Police are hosting a useful webinar later this month, aimed at parents, carers and educators.

If you are concerned that someone you know with an interest in or talent for computer skills and the digital world may be tempted into criminality, this workshop is for you.

More details can be found here:

f32c2b30-f1c6-491a-8c1c-8467cc58c8f6@aa3611bd-13ac-47ac-8207-00fb9ea44ede" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f32c2b30-f1c6-491a-8c1c-8467cc58c8f6@aa3611bd-13ac-47ac-8207-00fb9ea44ede

11/06/2026

So far this year the government has made it illegal to create deepfaked, sexualised images without consent, introduced 48-hour takedown orders for sites hosting abusive images, and announced plans to ban so-called ‘semen’ images.

While such progress is encouraging, we need to know more about how these changes will actually impact survivors’ experiences, in particular when reporting to the police.

That's why Not Your P**n has partnered with the Centre for Women's Justice and Leigh Day Solicitors to create a short survey for image-based abuse survivors to better understand their experiences.

Have your say here:

https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/6CBY-PH2/iba-response-form

Not Your P**n, the Centre for Women’s Justice and Leigh Day are gathering information on police responses to image-based abuse in England and Wales.

10/06/2026

We know it's a big step to pick up the phone to call us for the first time. When you are ready to talk to someone, we are here for you 💜

Our helpline is open this afternoon 4:30pm - 7:30pm and then again tomorrow morning 10am - 1pm.

It's confidential and open to all genders 18+ in Notts. We do not charge for our services.

Find out more here: https://nottssvss.org.uk/asa-about/

You can:

🟣 tell someone what happened
🟣 access services such as group support and mindfulness
🟣 access emotional support from trained counsellors and therapists
🟣 get help to understand how the criminal justice system works

📱0115 941 0440

10/06/2026

Next week is Men's Health Week and we are going to be shining a spotlight on men all week.

It is estimated that around 12,000 men are r**ed and 70,000 are sexually assaulted or abused every year in the UK. Thousands more are survivors of sexual abuse that happened in childhood.

If you are male (or identify as male) we are here for you.

09/06/2026

Do you know a young person aged 13–24 who grew up with domestic abuse at home? Their voice could help improve support for other young survivors in our city ❤️

Juno Women's Aid are inviting young people of all genders / gender identities to take part in a safe and supportive consultation about what helped them, what support could have made a difference, and what services should understand better.

This is NOT about asking young people to talk about the abuse itself.

We know taking part in something like this can feel daunting. Hopefully the following points will help to reassure:

• Participants can change their mind at any time
• They can bring someone they trust to interviews
• Interviews can happen online or in person
• Juno can support with travel costs
• Everyone who takes part in a 1-1 interview receives a £20 thank you voucher
• Juno will keep participants and their information safe throughout

For some young people, sharing their views can feel empowering and their ideas could help create better support for others in the future.

(Domestic abuse can include physically or sexually hurting, bullying, harassing or controlling someone)

The online survey can be accessed here:

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=PoGKwqqZxk6jxdJ1rDkOboQ6cH3UHM1MijfleYoWqlRUREFLQjZXRTVFSDVYRzc3VkI0MTBSNFJPUi4u&origin=QRCode

09/06/2026

We know gay men can sometimes face additional barriers to seeking support after experiencing r**e or abuse or sexual assault.

We are here to say we believe you and we will support you regardless of the circumstances.

Find out more about how we support men here:

https://nottssvss.org.uk/who-we-can-help/males/

And how we support gay, bi and trans men here:

https://nottssvss.org.uk/who-we-can-help/lgbtq/

08/06/2026

Women and girls at risk of female ge***al mutilation will be better protected under a package of new measures announced at the recent FGM Summit.

The Home Office will review the FGM mandatory reporting duty to ensure it is as strong and effective as possible and support professionals working with children to follow clear guidance on when and how to act.

New national practice guidelines for FGM Protection Orders will be developed to identify girls at risk of being taken abroad for FGM.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and National Police Chiefs’ Council will refresh their joint protocol on FGM to ensure investigators and prosecutors are better equipped to build strong cases from the outset.

The CPS will also develop a new training module for prosecutors to strengthen capability and expertise on FGM.

Find out more here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-better-protect-women-and-girls-from-fgm

05/06/2026

The National Crime Agency have announced plans to use banks to stop UK offenders who pay for livestreamed child sexual abuse overseas.

For the first time, the NCA has worked with financial institutions, through their Public Private Partnerships unit, to show how banks can identify possible child sexual abuse (CSA) livestreaming payments and help law enforcement to stop the ongoing abuse of a child.

Under the new initiative, banks will be provided guidance and advice to identify transactions to stop offenders earlier and safeguard children no matter where they are located.

Banks could provide critical intervention to stop UK offenders who pay for livestreamed child sexual abuse overseas, the...