‘Setting up a Sexual Violence Forum: Tees Valley Experience’

1st Sexual Violence Conference

University of Durham
November 26th 2007

Professor Jill Radford

Section for the Study of Gender Violence
SOFI, University of Teesside
Chair: Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum
 Structure of Presentation

Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum

• Multi-agency approaches
• Background
• Formation
• Aims
• Membership
• Achievements
• Challenges
• Moving Forward
About Multi-Agency Working
The appeal of multi-agency working stems from a
recognition that sexual violence is a serious, complex and
multi-faceted crime problem
Different agencies bring different expertise
Allowing the coordination of expertise and some pooling of
resources
Expertise is however vital; although the rape crisis
movement has 40 years experience of working in this field,
there remains an issue about how this expertise is
recognised. With the shift to an integrated approach to
violence against women, there are real concerns about non
specialists entering / appropriating the field and delivering
inappropriate services
Most fundamentally, it has the potential to bring a holistic
approach to responding to sexual violence
Evaluations of Multi-Agency Working around crime more
generally have been
positive…

‘… one of the most dramatic developments in crime

control policy in the last decade, not only in Britain but
also across Europe, North America and Australasia’

Crawford 1998:169
 And negative …
‘the multi-agency approach is a bandwagon too hastily joined
when there is yet no evidence to suggest that it is a panacea’.

Gilling 1994:246
 And more complicated

In general, real progress in specific areas seems to a great

extent to be due to local historical idiosyncrasies, or to the
commitment and talents of particular individuals who happen
to have taken crime prevention duties upon themselves.’
Liddle and Gelsthorpe (1994:27)

Positioning on a continuum between ‘multi-agency’ (agencies

working together) and ‘inter-agency’ existing agencies
‘merging’ to form or within a new project.
(Radford, Martin and Alderson 2004)

Power relationships between agencies, marginalisation of

women’s voluntary sector
(Hague and Malos 2000)

Shared understandings and dangers of acceptance of lowest

common denominator
 Real Improved smoke-
progress Face-
Services screen
saver
Holistic Variability
approach of services Talking-shop

Expertise Bandwagon
Multi-Agency? – hastily
Innovative joined
initiatives
Feminist work on
Historical vaw
idiosyncrasies

Commitment
Local Experience
and talent
diversity in M-A
work
Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum
The Local: Where we are
Local History of Feminist Activism Around Violence
Against Women

•Locally feminists have been active around sexual and

domestic violence since the 1970s

•4 Women’s Aid Refuges were founded in the 1970s

•Cleveland Rape Crisis Centre was founded in 1981 - later

known as CRSACS and CREATE
 Local Experience of Forum Working

• Cleveland Domestic Violence Forum, one of the earliest,

was formed in 1992

• Chaired by Women’s Aid - an active forum, with many

achievements including: hosting a 3-yr Zero Tolerance
Campaign

• 1996-7: ‘Cleveland’ abolished

• 1997-8: Domestic Violence Forums founded in the 4 new

Unitary authorities

• And in 2000 Darlington, Co. Durham (2004)

 By 2002, Cleveland Rape Crisis Centre was:
• 21 years old - the largest in UK ~ 25 workers

• Income generating & supported by grants

• Providing counselling, advocacy and support ~ sexual violence

and drugs+ eating disorders

• Training voluntary and statutory services

• Researching the attrition crisis (Home Office)

• Responding to Setting the Boundaries

• In negotiation with Cleveland Police and NHS ~ establishing a

SARC for the region

Broad-based and working in partnership with voluntary and

statutory agencies
 Rape Crisis in Crisis

• As a consequence of the insecure and inadequate funding

regimes which characterises the voluntary sector …

• In Nov 2002, Cleveland Rape Crisis (CREATE) was suddenly

closed and declared bankrupt

• The closure of such an established key service became a

major issue at the Teesside Changing Law, Changing Practice
Conference,
where in consequence:

Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum was founded

 International Week of Action Against Violence Against Women

Rape: Changing Law – Changing Practice

Conference Nov 2002

MDVF and University of Teesside

Speakers
• Harriet Harman MP, QC, Solicitor General
• Vera Baird MP, QC, Redcar
• Alane Aitken: Women’s Support Network
• Kay Davies: CREATE - freedom from sexual
violence
• Chair: Professor Jill Radford
 Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum - an inauspicious and
auspicious start

• Originated in a major crisis – the collapse of the region’s

rape crisis centre

• At a major Conference –

• Attended by over 100 people, including MPs, Women’s

Voluntary sector, police, CPS …

• Addressed by a government minister – the Solicitor

General
 Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum: Aims

from these origins a 3-point agenda emerged:

• Re-establishing rape crisis services for the region

• Engaging with the draft Sexual Offences Bill, now the

Sexual Offences Act 2003

• Making a ‘state of the art’ Sexual Assault Referral Centre a

reality

Meetings at the University, Friday lunch-times, every 6-weeks-ish.

 Forum Members
NISAA MDVF
Asian S. 4 study
Ex-
of Gender
Women’s Violene CREATE
Health Uni workers
M’Bro SECOS
Barnardos Refuge
Bridgeway
Redcar & I My
Cleveland M.P. Sister’s
W. Aid Redcar Black Place
Women’s
I DV net
Search Uni Cleveland
Researchers
Nat. Police
N.Tees Women’s
W. Aid Council Support
Women Network Hospital
Dr.
 Forum Achievements -1
• Rape Crisis
Services • Audit of local counselling services
• Supported bids for emergency measures
• Supported bids for new services in S.Tees
and development of services in N.Tees
• Services now in place, but on a much smaller
scale than previously
• Sexual
Offences Now Law
Act • Engaged with the SO Bill as it went thru’
2003 Parliament - via MP
• Monitoring its impact - still seeking funding for
a research project
 Forum Achievements - SARC

• Slower Progress -
– Cleveland Police commitment £500k (2002)
– Health authorities slower ‘rape not a health priority’ -
commitment secured 2005
• Representation on - SARC planning committee with
Cleveland Police and NHS - and sub groups
• Consultation Survey
• Public education and awareness raising
• Lobbying MP

• Opened September 2007

Forum: Other Activities
Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum with the University of
Teesside
Sexual Violence Services: Consultation Survey
Report February 2004

Professor Jill Radford

&
Sue Alderson

Section for the Study of Gender Violence

Social Futures Research Institute
School of Social Sciences and Law
University of Teesside
 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY EVENT

BIG CONVERSATION: SEXUAL AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Saturday MARCH 27th 2004, UNIVERSITY OF TEESSIDE

♀ SEXUAL OFFENCES ACT 2003

♀ PLANNING-TEESSIDE SEXUAL ASSAULT REFERRAL
CENTRE (SARC)
♀ DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, CRIME AND VICTIMS BILL 2003

Keynote Speakers:
Professor Liz Kelly CBE
Vera Baird Q.C. MP
Dari Taylor MP
Patricia Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, QC (video)
Salma Castle: NISAA
Professor Jill Radford: Chair
 Sexual and Domestic Violence

Teesside Sexual Health Conference 2005

The James Cook University Hospital

Saturday March 12th 2005

Professor Jill Radford

University of Teesside

Chair: Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum

 Lap dancing:

Professor Jill Radford

Section for the Study of Gender Violence, SOFI
Chair Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum
for
N.E. Women’s Forum, Seminar
December 2005
University of Teesside
 Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum
Cleveland 20 years on
Development of Sexual Violence Services
across the region
Chaired by Prof. Jill Radford
Barnados Bridgeway Project
29th June 2007
Speakers
Bea Campbell
Independent broadcaster, journalist and playwright
Sue Richardson
UKCP Registered Psychotherapist
Vera Baird
QC, MP for Redcar
Nicola Hanner
MAPT Senior Practitioner, Barnados Bridgeway
Project And
An Update on Local Services and Information Stalls
Sponsored by Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum, University of Teesside, Barnados
Bridgeway Project and Home Office Victims fund.
 Other Forum Activities

• Opposed licence application from a local lap dancing

club – failed
• Series of complaints re police responses to rape
complaints - brought to the forum by young women from
across the region - followed -up

~ being pressured to withdraw complaints by officers

from outside the investigation team

~ Police - public statement that young women going out

drinking ‘provoke’ it
 Challenges: ‘Talking Shop’

• Although ‘talking shop’ is a common criticism of forums –

Tees Valley Sexual Violence Forum – talks a lot – we find it
a necessary and productive activity that facilitates strategic
thinking & interventions

• As a Forum, we have operated as a ‘think tank’ / policy

advisory and networking forum

• Aim to identify gaps and promote the development of new

services
 Moving Forward: Current Challenges

As the Government has

Increased funding for Sexual Violence Services

and
Is shifting policy towards an Integrated Violence against
Women Services

There is a concern that other services are (opportunistically)

taking up sexual violence, which could lead to marginalisation
of the rape crisis movement, and its experiences and expertise
in this area of work.

Next meeting:
 Strategy meeting to discuss this development and
 Future direction of the forum as all initial aims have been
achieved
 Conclusion

As a Forum we have achieved such success as we’ve

had because of:

• Historical idioscyncracies
• Feminist Activism
• Prior experience of forum working

• Commitment and talents of all involved

• Diversity within the region