Sexual trauma

Anawim began as a charity helping women involved in prostitution, supporting those who had experienced sexual trauma and exploitation, so we are very experienced in offering non-judgemental support to help you through a range of issues.

Whether it is a historic or current situation, we are here for you.

Women from all backgrounds, ethnicities and ages can be affected by sexual trauma, abuse or exploitation; taken advantage of by a partner, family member, someone at work or even someone they haven’t met in person through grooming on the internet or trafficking.

We can support you in many ways, including if you have been abused or raped, are anxious about the demands someone is putting on you, or even if you are worried about female genital mutilation (FGM).

It could be that we help you to report an incident to the police, support you in moving forward in your life or from an unhealthy relationship or get you access to sexual health services or trauma counselling.

We also work closely with those involved in prostitution at our drop-in centres and in the community. We know this can be connected with drug and alcohol addictions, homelessness, coercive control or financial abuse so that’s why we look at the bigger picture. We can help you take more control of your life – from housing to relationship support or training for a new job – to reach where you would like to be.

How we can help - our non-judgemental, specialised case workers are here to help make things easier for you - from a chat or advice to attending important meetings with you.

If you have experienced rape or sexual abuse

We can support you to report the perpetrator, access therapeutic courses or simply listen and provide a safe space for you to share your experiences if that’s what you need.

We offer support for women whose cases of rape or abuse are going through the court system, right from the beginning when they feel ready to report it to the police, and can even go along with them.

For women suffering the effects of historic abuse or trauma later on in life, we are able to arrange counselling to help them move forward and choose healthy relationships in the future.

Unhealthy relationships

We also help women anxious about being exploited in their current relationship, who may also be experiencing emotional and financial abuse or coercive control. Counselling and courses on recognising the signs of an unhealthy relationship and work experience opportunities to help make them more independent are just a few of the options available. You can see more here.

Sexual health

In terms of sexual health, we provide advice and guidance around consent, safe sex and women’s health, such as on the menopause or the importance of cervical screening and STI testing.

Prostitution

Our drop-in sessions and community work with those involved in prostitution gives them the opportunity to discuss their sexual health along with other issues they want to resolve from support with addictions to housing matters. This also gives women access to STI testing and the chance to talk about other concerns.

Grooming and young people

Grooming is a key issue that can affect people, in particular online, and we want to help you tackle these problems, along with any other sexual trauma or abuse concerns. As a parent, you may be worried that your child is being groomed or in a controlling relationship. We can support you to recognise the manipulative side of this exploitation or sexual abuse and then to get help in preventing it. Take a look at the 10 warning signs of grooming below too.

Female Genital Mutilation

FGM, when some or all of the external parts of a girl’s genitalia are removed, is dangerous and illegal and can lead to infections, complications, psychological problems and even death. If you are a victim of FGM or know someone who is at risk, get in contact with us here so we can support you to get help.

        10 warning signs you are being ‘groomed’ or sexually exploited 
They are isolating you away from friends and family who care for you
You are being touched inappropriately, in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable
The person may be asking you to keep secrets and to spend time alone with them
They have asked you to take explicit pictures of yourself or be filmed doing sexual acts
They are forcing you to look at sexual images including films or pictures
They threaten you and become violent if you don’t do what they want
They make you watch them do something sexual, including having sex or touching themselves
You are being forced to have sex with them or do something sexually when you don’t want to
They are encouraging you to groom others or young people to become involved in illegal activity or sexual acts
They are blackmailing you to do something you don’t want to do

      