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Ask an Advocacy Worker
Set up in 2016, the National Advocacy Project is a network of specialist Advocacy Workers from local Rape Crisis Centres in Scotland who help survivors to access justice. All 17 Rape Crisis Centres have Advocacy Workers, meaning that survivors can benefit from advocacy anywhere in Scotland, from the Highlands and Islands right down to the Borders.
As a relatively new service, many survivors who think about pursuing justice aren’t aware of advocacy work or what help is available to them.
We spoke with Jo and Dawn, two Advocacy Workers at Rape and Sexual Abuse Service Highland (RASASH) in Inverness, to find out what Advocacy Workers want survivors to know.
What do Advocacy Workers do?
Jo: Another big part of what we do is act as a liaison between different agencies. We’re a link between the police if people want updates around the investigation or a link with the courts if a case reaches that stage. We can also act as a point of contact for these agencies which means that there's one person relaying the information and that can be really helpful because the process can be triggering.
Dawn: One of the things that we've been focussing on is working with other organisations and public services like housing to raise awareness on what our service does. There's a huge willingness from public services to work with us and provide more of a trauma-informed service to vulnerable people that contact them. We engage with these services to improve their process of referring into us and to make changes in our community, so that survivors get a good experience across all these services.
Jo: We also aim to open up the legal process. It comes with a whole language of its own and it can feel completely alien. Advocacy Workers take some of the power out the system and redress that balance so that survivors understand what's going on. We want survivors to feel that they have a voice throughout the process and have their opinions heard.
What does a typical day as an Advocacy Worker look like?
Jo: Advocacy Workers don't have a typical day. Our work is really responsive to the needs of the people on our caseload. I can have a week where the majority of my work is writing support letters for housing, or contacting the police for updates, or liaising with the Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service to find out what's happening with a case. Or I can have a week where I’m working with one person whose case has been called and I'm doing in court support, or talking them through what to expect in a legal meeting.
What’s the most important thing Advocacy Workers do?
Jo and Dawn (together): Listen.
What do you like about being an Advocacy Worker?
Jo: I like standing alongside someone and seeing them through the process. I'm constantly struck by the courage of people to go through the criminal justice process because it's gruelling and if I can be any value or any support in someone going to that process, then that's just an incredible privilege for me.
Dawn: Exactly, there is no greater privilege than seeing that you were there on that journey with that person. Another thing that I love about being in this team is that we are all so passionate. We’re good at standing up for people because we really feel the injustice: I think what makes this job so different from any other job is that you're in the post to fight that injustice with the person and that's really powerful.
What do you want survivors to know about advocacy?
Dawn: I want survivors to know that we will always believe them, we'll always listen to them and we will walk through the process beside them.
Jo: The power rests with the person using the advocacy service. I will never, ever do anything that somebody doesn't want me to do. People can sometimes feel pressured by others to report or to continue with a case but Advocacy Workers are neutral in the process and we’re survivor-led. We want survivors to have all the information and have time to make a considered decision and for that decision to be right for that person.
Dawn: And that is what makes it unique: No matter what a survivor says, we will be there with them to advocate on their behalf. Whichever direction you want to go, we'll be there.
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To find out more about the National Advocacy Project, visit our website here.
If you are considering reporting, or you have already reported and you want to find out more about advocacy, get in touch with your local Rape Crisis Centre. You can find your local centre on our website here.
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