A survey funded by PCC John Campion, and created by West Mercia Police’s Strategy, Planning and Insight team, has been launched to understand the views of anyone who has experienced rape, or any kind of sexual assault or abuse.
Complete the survey here.
You have until Wednesday 5 June to have your say.
Invitation:
You are invited to take part in an anonymous online survey. Before you decide whether to take part, it is important you understand why the research is being completed and who it involves. Please read the following information and consider whether you would like to participate. At the start of the survey, we will ask you to confirm that you have read and understood the information provided, and that you consent to take part.
Survey purpose:
The purpose of this survey is to offer victim-survivors of rape and/or sexual assault the opportunity to provide anonymous feedback about your support needs, and views on existing local support services. You do NOT need to have reported your crime to West Mercia Police, but if you have, we would like to hear about your experience.
The survey results will enable us to shape and inform commissioning of local support services for those impacted by rape and sexual assault going forward. The feedback will also suggest improvements to the service that West Mercia Police offers to victim-survivors.
Please note: Responding to this survey is NOT a way to report a crime to West Mercia Police. If you require emergency assistance, please dial 999. More information can be found below. You will also find more information at the end of the survey on how to report a crime should you wish to do so.
If you have any have any problems, questions, concerns, about this survey, please contact [email protected]
Useful information before taking part…
In order to take part, you must:
- Be aged 18 or over.
- Be a victim-survivor of a rape and/or sexual assault.
- Either live in West Mercia police area, or the rape/sexual assault took place in the West Mercia police area.
You do NOT need to have reported your crime to the police.
No, this survey is voluntary and you do not have to participate if you do not want to.
If you want to take part, you will complete an online survey which will take approximately 10 minutes.
- Some questions are multiple choice and other questions allow you to answer in your own words.
- You will not be asked to give any details that will identify you or about the offence itself. You will not be required to share anything that you do not feel comfortable with.
- You do not need to answer all of the questions if you do not want to.
Whilst we are not asking questions about the offence itself, we recognise that taking part in this survey may be distressing. Please only complete the survey if you feel safe and comfortable to do so.
Although the survey is confidential, if a crime is disclosed, and/or we have concerns about serious or immediate harm to others, then we may need to breach your confidentiality and disclose the information provided in the survey.
Please look after yourself when completing this survey. Take breaks if you need them and only continue when you feel ready.
If you would like to know more about sexual violence support services in West Mercia and how you can easily access these, please visit The Survivor Pathway: https://westmerciasurvivorpathway.org/
- If you or someone else in immediate danger or injured, please dial 999 to report the incident to the police.
- If everyone is currently safe, you can report the incident online via our website by visiting: Report rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences | West Mercia Police
- First, you will be asked you some questions to make sure reporting online is right for you, and so we can give you the right form to fill in.
- Then you will fill in the report itself. This will take about 20 to 30 minutes, so please make sure you are safe to take that time. We will not judge you; we will treat you with respect, and we will always put your health and wellbeing first.
- You can report something that has happened to you, or to someone else. You can report anonymously, without giving us your details.
- Use the ‘Leave this site’ button if you need to. It will close this site and open the Google search engine. Your form will not be saved and will not be sent to us.
- If you do not want to report to West Mercia Police, there are other organisations you can contact like a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), or a charity like Rape Crisis. If you would like to speak to any of these organisations, you will need to contact them directly. Here are the links: Find support organisations for rape and sexual assault. Read more about your options for reporting rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences. Whoever you tell, you can remain anonymous and do not have to give anyone your details if you do not want to.
The information that you provide is anonymous. It will be used to inform the West Mercia Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) sexual violence victim needs assessment which will be presented in the format of a report, presentation, and/or summary.
Where appropriate, anonymised results may also be shared with West Mercia police staff/officers and/or partner agencies. These results will then be used to shape and improve the police response to rape and/or sexual offences.
We will analyse the information that you provide in this survey, and a presentation, report and/or summary, will be produced containing anonymous data.
By clicking on the ‘survey hyperlink’ you are confirming that:
- You are over 18 years old.
- You have read and understood this Participant Information Sheet.
- You have had the opportunity to consider the information and ask question that you have not understood satisfactorily.
- You understand that participation is voluntary and that you are free to not to participate without giving reason and without being penalised or disadvantaged.
- You understand that the information given is anonymous and will be securely stored.
- You understand that you will not be able to withdraw consent for your survey responses to be used in this research once you have completed the survey because your response will not be identifiable.
- You consent to West Mercia Police storing this information as part of the West Mercia OPCC sexual violence victim needs assessment, and also to inform improvements to the service provided by West Mercia police.
The Chief Constable is defined as the ‘Data Controller’ for the purposes of the legislation and is required to ensure West Mercia Police handles all personal information in accordance with that legislation.
However, this survey is completely anonymous and participation in the survey is voluntary.
The purpose of the survey is to inform an OPCC sexual violence victim needs assessment (to understand potential service users / service user’s needs. The responses to the survey will be collected and processed for obtaining feedback to shape future development of services and understand service users experience of the police / local support services.
Please do not include your name or other information that could be used to identify you in your survey responses
You can find out more about how West Mercia police handles data by visiting: Privacy notice | West Mercia Police
