The effectiveness of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight’s rape and sexual assault services for vulnerable victims

Rape and sexual assault are an ever-growing issue in today’s society. Statistics reported in the Rape review (2021) demonstrate that the criminal justice system is failing victims of rape and sexual assault and highlights the need for victims to have access to quality support, appropriate to their needs, when they need it.

Last year Hampshire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) commissioned an independent review of access to domestic abuse and sexual crime services. One of the findings of this report was that there are challenges for victims accessing services, specifically caused by the lack of engagement with marginalised communities. These include those where English is not the first language, sexual minorities and those with different cultural beliefs (KDay Consultancy, 2021).

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of rape and sexual assault services in Hampshire for vulnerable victims. Specifically, the research aims to discover practitioners’ views on how their service effectively supports victims who have identities which make them more at risk of being the victim of a sexual crime.

Furthermore, the research aims to identify where, if at all, certain victims are not given access to certain services, and to explore the practitioners' perceived reasons for this.

It is hoped the findings from this research will be used to identify any requirement for further service development and investment, whilst highlighting areas of best practice in others.

References

HM Government (2021) The end-to-end rape review report on findings and actions. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1001417/end-to-end-rape-review-report-with-correction-slip.pdf [accessed 30th May 2022]

KDay Consultancy (2021) An independent review to identify how access to and available information about Specialist Domestic and Sexual Abuse Services across Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton can be further improved.

The study uses an inductive mixed-method design, specifically explanatory sequential design.

The first section of the research uses an online survey which collects predominantly quantitative data. The data collected in the survey will be analysed and used to inform the qualitative part the research using semi structured interviews. 

Participants will be recruited using purposive sampling. Due to the nature of the research participants will be able to provide their perceptions and experiences of working with RASSO victims directly. Therefore, the inclusion criteria for this research are practitioners that currently work directly with victims of sexual crime, or people who have previous experience working with victims of rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO).

As this research will be undertaken alongside the OPCC in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, it is essential participants worked with victims from HIOW. Although purposive sampling is usually only used in qualitative research, the current study requires purposive sampling to be used across both parts.

The quantitative data collected from the online survey will be analysed using univariate analysis. The nominal and ordinal variables were collected using Likert scales, radial buttons and multiple choice tick boxes. Qualitative data collected in interviews and in the opened ended questions of the survey will be analysed using thematic analysis.