We offer free support anyone aged 13 and over who has been affected by any form of sexual violence. We work across the whole Forth Valley area of Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirlingshire.

Our support service is open to survivors of all genders. We offer women only space to survivors who feel uncomfortable around men, and we will ask you about this at your initial appointment.

We can support you if you have experienced sexual violence at any time in your life. Sometimes it can take time to be able to talk about what happened, or even to recognise that what you experienced was abuse. We are here for you whether you experienced sexual violence a few days ago, or many decades ago.

Sometimes young people can be concerned that we will want to speak to their parents, or share information without their permission. Young people are welcome to contact our service independently, and the only time we would have to do this is if we think you are currently in any danger and where possible we would discuss this with you first, and involve you as much as possible.

If you are under 13, please call Childline on 0800 1111 who can offer support at any time either by phone or chat.

It takes a lot of courage to get in touch with a rape crisis centre to ask for support, so we try to make this as easy as possible.

You can phone us on 01786 439244 (Monday-Friday, 9-5) or email us at support@forthvalleyrapecrisis.org.uk.

All workers who answer the phone or respond to emails have been trained in supporting survivors of sexual violence. If it feels like too much to call yourself, a friend/family member can call to make an appointment on your behalf. We will have to check with anyone who calls on your behalf that they have your permission to do so.

Our service is confidential. That means that we will not tell anyone you have contacted us or speak to anyone about you, without you agreeing, unless someone is at risk of serious harm. We can tell you more about this when you contact us.

If you phone and we are not open, and you want to speak to someone urgently, you can ring the Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) Helpline on 08088 01 03 02 (5pm to midnight everyday). You can also email them at support@rapecrisisscotland.org.uk. The Rape Crisis Scotland Helpline is for anyone in Scotland.

We are part of Rape Crisis Scotland and the network of rape crisis centres across Scotland. We can arrange for another centre to see you if you prefer to do this outwith Forth Valley, for example if you work in another area and it is more convenient.

When you first contact our service, we will arrange for you to come in for an initial appointment to find out more about our service. We aim to offer you an appointment within two weeks.

If you decide that we offer is right for you, we will put you on a waiting list to be picked up by a support worker. The length of our waiting list varies and this is something we will discuss with you during your initial appointment. We know that it takes a lot of courage to get in touch with us and it can then be difficult to be placed on a waiting list, so for this reason we operate a weekly drop in that you can use as often as you like. You will be given more information about this at your initial appointment.

We offer 15 weeks of support. This can be extended if necessary and is something you and your support worker will discuss together during your sessions.

We have no expectation that you will go into any detail about what you have experienced. We have a person-centred approach that is focused on supporting you with the impact that sexual violence has had on your life. You may find it helpful to talk about what happened, or that may feel like it would cause you additional trauma: we will do whatever is right for you.

Everything you say at FVRCC is confidential, unless you give us information that indicates that a child or vulnerable adult is at risk of harm, or you tell us that you have taken steps to end your life. Information will be shared between workers in the centre. This is to ensure that staff can be well supervised and supported.

Our advocacy worker is there to help you navigate all aspects of the criminal justice system, including supporting you to make statements to the police and attending court with you. This service is open to anyone regardless of how long ago you experienced sexual violence. We will never put any pressure on you to go to the police: that is your decision to make and our advocacy workers will work with you to make the right decision for you.

If you’re not yet sure whether you’d like to report a recent sexual assault to the police, then you can contact The Meadows, which can offer a forensic medical examination without you having to speak to the police. They can store forensic evidence while you decide whether you’d like to report in future or not. Details can be found here: https://nhsforthvalley.com/health-services/az-of-services/the-meadows/

We understand that sometimes the thought of coming in for support can be overwhelming, and we want to provide support when the time is right for you. You are more than welcome to come back for support if you feel that you are now able to do so.

We can provide BSL interpreters for BSL speakers. D/deaf or hard of hearing survivors can contact the service by email. If you prefer, deaf access to support is also available through Rape Crisis Scotland who can then make a referral to our services.

Here is their BSL information on sexual violence.

We can arrange interpreters for survivors who do not speak English.
We are also able to offer support in Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese, Polish, Greek, and Swedish.

See our information about sexual violence in other languages.

You absolutely can, and we would encourage you to have a chat with your support worker about how we can best meet your needs. Many survivors with learning difficulties can be really worried that if they come to speak to us, we will tell other workers in your life what has happened to you and that you will lose all control.

You have the right to a confidential service, which means that we don’t tell anyone that you are coming here or what you have said unless you give us information that makes us think that you are currently in any danger or another person is at risk. For more information on sexual violence experienced by adults with learning difficulties take a look at our Easy Read Booklet.

All FVRCC support workers are trained in providing support to LGBTQ people, and we are aware that LGBTQ people can face additional barriers to accessing support including fear of discrimination. We are committed to providing a safe space for you.

We know that trans people can experience disproportionate rates of sexual violence and may feel unable to access sexual violence support services in the past because of fear of discrimination. However, our service is here to support you and all of our staff and volunteers have received training in issues related to gender identity.