Between 1987-89, Action Hampshire, then known as Hampshire’s Social Services Committee, identified a lack of clarity about where adults who had been sexually abused could go for support and advice.
At the time the New Milton Advisor reported:
“Unlike agencies and legislation to protect children, there is little that adults can do to seek advice or support”. A working party was set up, and HCCS conducted 18 months of consultation with organisations. HCCS published “Sexual Assault, Rape. A Directory of Helping Agencies” which listed information about voluntary and statutory organisations able to provide support. The consultation also revealed that, despite thinking that there may only be “a few people in need of help”, in fact up to 12,000 adults in Hampshire may have experienced sexual abuse at the time.
Today, Action Hampshire sits on the Hampshire Domestic Abuse Partnership Board and continues to support Hampshire VCSEs who support those who have experienced abuse
Source: Advertiser and Times, 1989
