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The ‘distinct challenges’ facing survivors in the Highlands

Survivors of rape and sexual violence in the Highlands face “distinct challenges” around anonymity and isolation in order to access life-saving support, a local Rape Crisis service has warned.

Rape and Sexual Abuse Service Highland (RASASH), the only specialist sexual violence service in the Highland Council, supports survivors from Caithness to Nairn. 

In an interview with BBC Radio Scotland’s Drivetime, the organisation’s chief executive Romy Rehfeld and support services manager Meghan Munro lay out the challenges and explain why it’s important for RASASH to meet survivors where they’re at.

RASASH highlighted three main issues for survivors in the Highlands: isolation, attitudes, and geography.

Romy said: “There’s still a misconception that [sexual violence] is an urban problem; that it’s something that happens in cities by strangers, when the reality is that the vast majority of people know their perpetrator and it happens somewhere they should feel safe, such as their home.

“When you are in a rural communities - especially really small tightknit communities - there are real concerns around anonymity like ‘will what I share be confidential?’ or ‘what if someone sees me accessing a service?’”

She added: “If the perpetrator is someone who is well known within the community, that can be a real challenge too. There’s the physical isolation but the feeling of isolation in a small community too.”

There’s still a misconception that this is an urban problem.

The population of the Highlands is far more spread out than it is for Rape Crisis services in other parts of the country, which means that survivors often have to travel longer distances to access support. This can be a particular challenge due to limited or unreliable transport options in their local area.

Instead of relying on survivors to travel to them, RASASH support workers travel to meet survivors instead. 

Meghan explained: “People from Caithness or Lochaber were having to take a full day off work to travel to Inverness for a one-hour appointment, which meant people either weren’t reaching out for support or were having to make really big life adjustments to manage it.”

The organisation’s outreach service currently operates in areas including Caithness, Easter Ross, East Sutherland, Wester Ross, Lochaber, Nairn and Badenoch and Strathspey and regularly review areas where it might be needed in the future.

Outreach services are provided in safe community spaces to ensure privacy for survivors. They also operate ‘walking sessions’, where a support worker and survivor can talk while walking side by side. 

Meghan added: “When you’re travelling to meet people where they are, there’s a recognition of the importance of that and the importance of what they’ve experienced.”

• Find out more about how you can support RASASH here.