About SASH

SASH is a partnership project providing support to children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse or sexual harm. This project brings together specialist and established services from SAASSBMK and SAFE!. With funding from Buckinghamshire Council, we are able to provide support Children, and Young People aged 5 to 18 years by delivering a responsive, individually tailored specialist support service in Buckinghamshire to those who have been affected by rape, sexual assault, and domestic abuse.

Both organisations are passionate about the work they do and believe that children and young people deserve access to specialist support during vulnerable or troubled phases of their lives.

More information on our services can be found below or by calling 07546 561186. Referrals for all our services are made through our online referral

Counselling

Our counselling is delivered by SAASS, all our counsellors are qualified and experienced in supporting young people to process their experiences. Young people are offered up to 24 weeks of counselling either in school or in our offices in Aylesbury. We use a trauma informed approach alongside psychoeducation to help young people understand, process and make positive steps forward in their life.

We believe children and young people deserve access to specialist support during troubled and vulnerable phases in their life. Early intervention is crucial for healthy emotional development, giving the chance for the developing brain to fire synaptic networks into life and learn to regulate stress responses.

Project Work Support

SASH Project Work support provides the young person with between six and twelve one-to-one sessions with a trained and experienced SAFE! Project Worker. Young people can choose where they feel most comfortable meeting; it could be at home, school, college, youth/ community centre, or at our Office in Aylesbury. We can also provide online support via telephone and online video chat.

In order to support young people who have experiences sexual harm or domestic abuse, our Project Workers use what is known as the ‘protective behaviours’ model. Every session with a young person has two overarching themes.

‘Everyone has the right to feel safe all of the time’
‘We can talk with someone about anything, even if it feels awful or small’

By using these themes SAFE! can:

Listen to the young person, and help them to think about what they might want to do next
Give them space to talk about what has happened and what they’re going through
Help them think about keeping safe
Give them information about reporting a crime and what might happen if they do report
Work directly with parents where appropriate to ensure that they get the best possible support
Give them information about who else might be able to help

A SASH Project Worker will help the young person to develop ways of coping for times when they don’t feel safe. They will not have to talk about what happened to them, unless they want to. It is up to them how much or how little support they get from us. They are free to stop support whenever they like.

SASH believes that young people have the right to feel safe wherever they are. We give young people the space to explore their thoughts and feelings without judgement. Details of what young people share with us in sessions remains confidential, unless there are things that young people want us to share with other people, or if we feel that the young person or someone else may be in danger.

Parent/Carer Support

SASH has a dedicated parent support worker who has a wealth of experience supporting both parents and young people at SAFE!. Our parent support worker is able to offer up to 6 one to one sessions for parents whose children have been referred or are eligible for support via SASH.

This support allows the parent/ carer space to talk to a professional about the impact the sexual harm or domestic abuse has had on their child and the wider family. This support allows the parent/ carer to enhance skills in supporting their child and understanding the options they have available to them.

SAFE! have developed a booklet for parents and carers whose children have experienced crime or victimisation. You can read it here.

DAY Programme

Our SASH project workers are also trained Session Leaders and experienced in delivering the DAY programme.

DAY is a unique multimedia programme that uses short films, advertisements and chart music to raise awareness and provide education about healthy and unhealthy relationships in a relevant and exciting way. DAY is based on the Freedom Programme but is designed to be used with young people of all genders.

SASH run DAY programmes throughout the year via Zoom and one face to face in Aylesbury in the summer. The groups run by SAFE! across the Thames Valley have specific groups run for those aged 11 to 13, those aged 14 to 18, female only groups, LGBTQIA+ groups – where these specialist groups run via Zoom, SASH clients will also be able to access this.

Independent Sexual and Domestic Abuse Advocacy

SASH has support from the Children’s Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advocate (ChISDVA) employed by SAFE! to support children and families across Buckinghamshire to navigate the criminal justice process following an experience of sexual harm or domestic abuse.

Having experienced sexual harm or domestic abuse, young people may not be ready for or want counselling but rather prefer practical and emotional support. The role of our ChISVA is not to tell the young person what to do but rather explain and support throughout the criminal justice process. If the crime hasn’t been reported to the police, the ChISVA will talk through all options to allow for an informed decision to be made. If the choice is made to report to the police, the ChISVA will support the young person through this process. They will also help the young person and family to understand what is being said to them by other agencies such as the police and advocate for the young person to ensure their Victim’s Code of Practice is maintained.

The Victim’s Code of Practice sets out the following 12 rights for victims:

To be able to understand and to be understood
To have the details of the crime recorded without unjustified delay
To be provided with information when reporting the crime
To be referred to services that support victims and have services and support tailored to your needs
To be provided with information about compensation
To be provided with information about the investigation and prosecution
To make a Victim Personal Statement
To be given information about the trial, trial process and your role as a witness
To be given information about the outcome of the case and any appeals
To be paid expenses and have property returned
To be given information about the offender following a conviction
To make a complaint about your Rights not being met

About the partnership

SASH BUCKS is a partnership between the registered charities Sexual Assault and Abuse Service Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes (1175021) SAFE! Support for Young People Affected by Crime (1143532) funded by Buckinghamshire Council.

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