The Survivors Trust welcomes being put to the test

The statistics around sexual violence make sombre reading. According to statistics from The Survivors Trust (TST), someone is raped every five minutes in the UK. One in four women and one in six men have experienced sexual violence, and 15% of girls and 5% of boys have experienced sexual violence by the time they are 16.  

Sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) provide help and support to those affected by sexual violence, with the collection of forensic evidence among the vital services offered.  

Two years ago, the Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) announced that SARCs needed to achieve accreditation to ISO 15189 Medical laboratories – Requirements for quality and competence by 1 October 2023. UKAS has worked with the FSR to develop an assisted application scheme, while TST, an umbrella agency for specialist rape and sexual abuse services in the UK, is working to become a UKAS-accredited inspection body.  

Becoming a UKAS-accredited inspection body will give us internationally recognised credibility and provide assurance to service users, stakeholders, and commissioning bodies for organisations that we inspect for compliance with our national service standards.

Chris Shariff, Policy and Standards Manager at TST, explains: “UKAS is currently inspecting SARCs for conformity to standards set by the Forensic Science Regulator, assessing compliance around the forensic requirements involved in sexual offences. As such, TST is working with a single point of contact within UKAS to ensure that the standards for support services for victims and survivors of sexual violence dovetail into the work with SARC standards, to ensure a streamlined approach with these two key areas in supporting those who have experienced sexual abuse.  

“The impact of sexual violence can result in complex and sometimes unique support needs that require specialist intervention. We want to ensure a ‘fair playing field’ for all organisations, irrespective of their size or specialism, to ensure there remains a diversity of support services for all victims/survivors of sexual violence and their respective needs.” 

Providing assurance 

The importance of TST becoming an accreditation body cannot be overestimated.   

“It will give us internationally recognised credibility and provide assurance to service users, stakeholders, and commissioning bodies for organisations that we inspect for compliance with our national service standards,” Sharif explains. “The rigorous assessment and checks by UKAS that TST is undertaking to ensure our compliance to specific ISO standards will enable us to help specialist services to improve and continually develop recognised good practice, and meet legislative requirements to a good quality standard – not only within their own organisations, but also across this very specialist sector.  

“TST has national service standards in place and has been assessing organisations that provide services to victims/survivors of sexual violence and abuse for several years. TST service standards include all business areas, from governance and management through to specialist services such as trauma-focused counselling and independent sexual violence advisor services. These have helped to set a benchmark and drive up quality of service provision across the sector so far.  

“As the challenges faced by those who have experienced sexual abuse change, so have the demands on service provision. TST is ensuring that our standards evolve to reflect these changes, to enable sexual violence support services to adapt appropriately and safely with the needs of the service users at the centre.” 

Developing quality management systems 

TST works with more than 120 member organisations and agencies, including charities, the police, the NHS and government bodies, to support and raise awareness, as well as to develop national standards and inspection processes.   

“We work in collaboration with our member agencies, as well as those with lived experience of sexual abuse, to ensure all our work is fit for purpose, current and reflective of the sector,” Sharif says. “In developing new national service standards and inspection processes, we have continued with this practice and have incorporated a structure that ensures regular consultation at key stages of the process.   

“Alongside this, TST is working with UKAS as we develop the necessary quality management structures, processes and documentation. UKAS assesses our documentation, staff and associated processes around inspection. It also provides feedback to ensure we have a robust framework in place to continually evaluate the skill, competence and ability of our inspectors to carry out inspections with integrity – impartially and fairly – with a clear and documented audit trail.  

“UKAS will monitor and assess TST as we carry out inspections. Once TST becomes a UKAS-accredited inspection body, we will continue to be assessed by UKAS to ensure we maintain the required standards for accreditation. 

“Because TST’s new national service standards include all areas of business for organisations that undergo inspection by TST for conformity with our standards, it will demonstrate SARCs’ commitment to being transparent in their business operation and provision of trauma-informed services. It will also show their willingness to have areas for improvement identified and good practice recognised and endorsed.  

“It will enable organisations to establish evidence-based assurance of their competence and ability. This provides internationally recognised standards of good practice and adherence to regulatory conformance for delivering safe and effective support services to victims/survivors of sexual violence and abuse.”  

Informed choice 

The landscape of the work carried out by SARCs is always changing, meaning service providers must adapt and change at the same time, as Sharif explains.  

“Quality-of-service provision is steered by service users themselves, ensuring they remain the driving force for change. Alongside established and recognised good practice, this will help organisations become more responsive to changing sector needs, improve their efficiency, and create more structured business frameworks with clear responsibility and accountability to incorporate good reflective business practices,” she says.  

“This in turn leads to a workforce that feels more competent, able and supported in their respective roles, with service users having a clear understanding of the service and what to expect. Informed choice is fundamental in victims’ and survivors’ recovery journey.”