Victim Support NI announce closure of ISVA Service
It is with regret that we announce Victim Support NI’s ISVA (Independent Sexual Violence Advocate) service is to close on August 31st 2021.
The Department of Justice and the PSNI have established a new NI-wide advocacy service, Assist NI, which will support qualifying victims of domestic and sexual abuse including children. This will be provided by a new service provider and will soon begin operations across Northern Ireland.
The ISVA service was established in 2016 thanks to initial funding from Comic Relief. Over the years, our ISVAs have formed excellent partnerships with the PSNI, The Rowan SARC, NEXUS, Women’s Aid, MAP, The Rainbow Project NI and many other agencies who work with victims of sexual crime.
The ISVA Service was a groundbreaking step forward in provision of appropriate care for victims of this heinous crime in NI. The opportunity to deliver this essential support to victims was a humbling experience as we shared in our clients’ journeys through the criminal justice system. We know, from the feedback we received from clients, that their trauma was somewhat ameliorated and reduced by our ISVA’s support, and that we were able to help in the recovery process. We were privileged to work with almost 1,700 clients over the years. They are all survivors and we commend them for their strength and tenacity in their pursuit of justice.
Existing clients of the service have been informed and have been moved to the care of ASSIST NI with their consent.
All other Victim Support NI services will continue to operate as normal and we still offer emotional support to victims through our Community Service, Criminal Injury Compensation Advice service and our Witness Service which is available in all criminal courts in NI. We have also recently launched our Sexual Offences Legal Advisers (SOLAs) scheme, which offers victims of serious sexual assault free and independent legal advice and support up to the commencement of the trial.
We remain committed to our work of advancing the rights of all victims of crime and the support available to them.
We wish ASSIST NI well with the provision of the new advocacy service.