Other Support and Advice
We will be updating this website frequently so look out for more information & support services soon!
Sometimes if you have experienced sexual violence you may also be experiencing/have experienced other things you need support for, e.g. housing and finances, addiction, mental health etc. These are common effects of sexual violence.
You are not alone and you do not need to cope on your own. You may be scared or concerned about seeking help, but there is support, advice, and care available for you. We have included some lists below of specialist support services and helpful resources below:
Crisis Support
If you, or someone else, is experiencing a crisis you can contact the following helplines for support, advice and care.
- If you, or someone else, is in danger or has hurt themselves and you think the injuries are life-threatening, you can call 999 for support from the emergency services
- call 999
- NHS 24 mental health services are available to everyone in Scotland, of all ages. They can listen to you, give you advice and guide you to further help if required.
- call 111
- Samaritans is a national helpline for people affected by suicide.
- You can call them at any time of day.
- call 116 123
If you’ve been raped or sexually assaulted in the last 7 days, you can phone the sexual assault self-referral phone service (SARCS)
- Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- call 0800 148 88 88
- Rape Crisis Scotland National Helpline offers confidential short-term, crisis and initial support by phone, email, webchat and text for people who are affected/have been affected by sexual violence.
- open 5pm - midnight every night
- call 08088 010302
- Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline can help if you are experiencing any form of domestic abuse or forced marriage
- call 0800 027 1234
- Childline offers advice, support, and counselling to young people.
- call 0800 1111
Suicide
Help is available for anyone struggling with suicide or suicidal feelings, as well as their friends and family.
Coping with suicidal thoughts
- NHS 24 mental health services are available to everyone in Scotland, of all ages. The services they offer include listening, offering advice, and guiding you to further help if you require.
- call 111
- Samaritans is a national helpline for people affected by suicide. You can call them at any time of day. They also have a webchat, email chat and you can write them a letter. The Aberdeen branch also offer face-to-face support.
- call 116 123
- Breathing Space is a helpline number for people in Scotland who have are experiencing suicidal thoughts and feelings. You can contact them by phone or webchat.
- Call 0800 83 85 87
- Papyrus is a charity dedicated to preventing youth suicide. They run a helpline and you can contact them by phone, text, email or webchat
- call 0800 068 41 41
- Childline offers advice, support, and counselling to young people.
- call 0800 1111
- Prevent Suicide North East is an app that contains helpful information and contacts about where to get support locally (Moray, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire) if you are struggling with suicidal thoughts and feelings.
- James Support Group offer local support groups for for anyone affected by suicide & those who suffer suicidal thoughts. They meet once a month in Elgin at the Ex-Servicemens Club.
- call 07563 572471
- Mikeysline runs an online mental health helpline, as well as offering individual one-to-one support sessions in person or over zoom.
- text 07786207755
- Sonas (Action for Children) is a service providing emotional support for young people aged 5-26 years.
- Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is a charity who provide helpline support, advice, and information to people who have been affected by suicide. Helpline is open every night 5pm-midnight by phone, webchat or WhatsApp.
- call 0800 58 58 58
- NHS Inform has a helpful video sharing insights into how to cope with suicidal thoughts
Bereavement by Suicide
- Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide offer peer-led support for people who have been affected by bereavement by suicide. They offer phone and email support, an online forum, as well as a support group based in Aberdeen.
- call 0300 111 5065
- Cruse Bereavement offer a helpline for people who have been affected by bereavement. Helpline open 9am-8pm Mon-Fri and 10am-2pm on weekends.
- call 0808 802 6161
Self Harm and Self Injury
Help is available for anyone who self harms, as well as their family and friends.
- NHS 24 mental health services are available to everyone in Scotland, of all ages. The services they offer include listening, offering advice, and guiding you to further help if you require.
- call 111
- Self Injury Support offer support services and self-help resources
- Beat Eating Disorders
- Young Minds for young people & for parents
- Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH)
- Samaritans
- Self Harm UK (Alumina)
- Harmless
- Mind
Gender Based Violence
There are lots of support agencies and services that provide specialist support, advice and aid to those who have experienced any form of gender-based violence. Check out our list below for contact details and more information.
Domestic Abuse & Gender Based Violence
Domestic Abuse & Gender-Based Violence
- Moray Women’s Aid
- Adult Protection
- Surviving Economic Abuse
- Suzy Lamplugh Trust (Stalking)
- Revenge Porn Helpline
- National Ugly Mugs
- Encompass Network
- Shakti Women’s Aid
- FGM Aware
- National FGM Centre
- Action Against Stalking Scotland
- Fight The New Drug (Porn Addiction & Awareness around Sex Trafficking)
- Expose the Harm
- Survivors UK
- Abused Men in Scotland (AMIS)
- Speak Out Scotland
- Future Pathways
- Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre
- Domestic Abuse & Forced Marriage Helpline
- Scottish Women’s Rights Centre
Legal Support, Compensation & Advocacy
Legal & Advocacy Support
Support for all survivors
All survivors of sexual violence deserve specialist support. We share some of the specialist services that offer support, advice and information for survivors with different characteristics below.
Young People
Information for young people
- Childline
- Barnardo’s
- Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command (CEOP)
- Young Minds
- Quarriers Carer Support
- Kidscape
- RespectMe
- Aye Mind – resources and signposting (not for immediate or crisis support)
- Breathing Space
- Aberlour
- Elgin Youth Cafe
- Keith Loft Youth Project
- LGBT Youth Scotland
- RCS Friends
- RCS Young People Supporting Friends
Information for Parents & Carers
- Children First Support Scotland
- The Mama Bear Effect
- Beacon House resources
- Young Minds Guides for Parents: Abuse and Domestic Violence & Trauma
- Rape Crisis Scotland Leaflet
Child Protection
Male Survivors
LGBTQ+ survivors
Survivors with Learning Needs & Disabilities
BME survivors
Black & Minority Ethnic Groups
Support in your first language
Support is available for survivors in Moray whose first language is not English.
We offer a Polish language support service with our Polish-Speaking Therapeutic Support Worker, and can arrange for specialist online or phone support in Arabic and Mandarin from other Rape Crisis centres. For speakers of other languages we can arrange for translators and interpreters.
We offer BSL interpreters for anyone who accesses the service for support. We have a dedicated support space for people with sensory disabilities. We can also make other accommodations that can enable you to access support and support recovery.
We also have the ReciteMe toolbar, which offers translation tools and other reading aids. You can access this by clicking ‘Launch ReciteMe’ at the top of the webpage.
North East Sensory Services (NESS) offer support and social groups for people in Moray experiencing sensory loss, as well as adaptive and assistive living equipment, BSL interpreting and specialist support with independent living.
- Grampian Regional Equality Council (GREC) offer translation and interpreting services, counselling for adults and young people, and support, advice and advocacy for those who have experienced discrimination, prejudice and hate crime. (young people’s service not currently open to referrals)
- Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) offer a helpline, advice surgeries, legal representation and advocacy support for women who have experienced any form of gender-based violence. They also offer specialist support to migrant women and have translated resources in a range of different languages.
Support for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
- Migrant Rights Network
- Grampian Regional Equality Council
- Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre
- Scottish Refugee Council
- Scottish Women’s Rights Centre offers legal advice, representation, and advocacy to women in Scotland experiencing any form of gender-based violence.
- Scottish Refugee & Migrant Centre is a legal advice centre run by Just Right Scotland. They offer a legal advice helplines, surgeries and factsheets about your legal rights. All staff are trained to work with women and girls affected by gender-based violence, including FGM, trafficking, domestic violence and forced marriage.
- Just Right Scotland provide legal advice and outreach, peer support, and policy research. They have published some legal factsheets that you can access here:
Support for Survivors of Trafficking
- Aberdeen Cyrenians (EVAA) The Ending Violence & Abuse Aberdeen service offers one-to-one and group support, advocacy, referrals, and safety planning, including supporting women with no recourse to public funds & LGBTQ+ people of all genders.
- TARA (Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance) provide support, advocacy, and financial assistance to women who have been trafficked and exploited.
- Encompass is a network of agencies committed to supporting women who have been involved/are involved in commercial sexual exploitation, including trafficking.
- Project Light (Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland) operate advocacy, prevention and repatriation services (for those who wish to return to their home country) across Scotland.
- The Scottish Anti-Trafficking & Exploitation Centre is the only specialist legal project in Scotland that provides direct legal advice and representation to child and adult survivors of trafficking and exploitation in Scotland regardless of nationality, gender, type of exploitation and geographical location.
- Police Scotland have some helpful information about human trafficking, ways to spot it, and what to do if you suspect someone has been trafficked.
Support for Survivors of Commercial Sexual Exploitation
- Encompass is a network of agencies committed to supporting women who have been involved/are involved in commercial sexual exploitation, including trafficking.
Support for Survivors of Forced Marriage
- Scottish Women’s Rights Centre offer specialist support for survivors of forced marriage. They offer a legal helpline, legal factsheets and information about reporting forced marriage and getting legal representation and compensation.
Support for Survivors of FGM
Other support
Sometimes survivors of sexual violence require support for other issues that may arise from experiencing violence or abuse. We share the details of some support services below for issues commonly affecting survivors of sexual violence.
Mental Health
Mental Health
Specialist Support
Housing & Financial Support
Alcohol, Drugs & Addiction Support
Sexual Health
In this section you can find out about sexual health services available in Moray.
- Grampian Sexual Health Services website offers information about sexual health services across the Grampian area, as well as information about contraception options available to you. They also have a Facebook page where they share the latest news.
- Waverley Care provides support for people in Scotland affected by HIV and Hepatitis-C. They also offer advice on a range of sexual health topics, and have specific support pages for LGBTQ+ and BME survivors.
- Brook lots of helpful information on a range of sexual health topics