South Ayrshire Multi Agency Partnership

Information For Women

Rape Counselling and Resource Centre (RCRC)

What can the Rape Counselling and Resource Centre (RCRC) provide?

• Free professional and confidential counselling and support to female survivors of rape and child sexual abuse
• Support through court procedures
• Support to parents, partners and family members
• Support groups for survivors
• Mother's groups
• Young survivors groups/girl's groups
• Assertiveness, confidence building and self esteem training
• Reiki
• Relaxation and guided visualisation
• Indian head massage
• Anger management

We have books, audio tapes and videos on the following subjects:

• Rape
• Sexual assault
• Child sexual abuse
• Personal development
• Sexual health and well being
• Issues for teenagers and young people
• Pornography
• Ritual abuse
• Relaxation, meditation and anger management
• Personal safety and education
• Resources for male survivors

Information packs are available on the following:

• Rape
• Child sexual abuse
• Rape in marriage
• Ritual abuse
• Reactions to rape
• Packs for schools
• Young girls
• What is sexual violence?
• Male survivors
• For friends and relatives
• For mothers
• For partners
• The law

Outreach Service in South Ayrshire
An outreach service to South Ayrshire has been operating for the past two years. The service is funded by South Ayrshire Council and provided by the Rape Counselling and Resource Centre which is part of the Rape Crisis Scotland network. The service was primarily set up to serve the rural areas in South Ayrshire but it very quickly became apparent that the service was required in the whole of the authority and so bases have now been set up throughout the whole of the authority including Ayr Central, Troon, Prestwick, Maybole and Girvan. At present, there is one full time worker and it is hoped that further funding can be secured in the near future to allow the service to develop.

Survivors contacting the service can be assured of professionalism, quality and confidentiality and, while there is no permanent centre in South Ayrshire, clients can access the full range of services and resources in the Kilmarnock and Cumnock centres; travelling expenses can also be claimed for those who attend either centre.

Referrals are accepted from other agencies such as GPs, Social Services, Women's Aid and the Education Department. Self referrals are also welcome. Counselling is delivered in a safe and comfortable environment and focuses solely on the needs of the clients. There is great emphasis on confidentiality and so no records or files are kept on clients and there is no information shared with other agencies.

Training Available to Outside Agencies

Basic awareness training
Full day training, focusing on raising awareness and an understanding of the issues of sexual violence.

Handling disclosures and responding to survivors
Specifically for agencies who would be likely to receive disclosures from survivors.

Personal safety and awareness raising for young people
Available in the form of a presentation and delivered in secondary schools years 1-6.

Training can be tailor-made, depending on the organisation and their needs and can be delivered in-house if requested.

Coming for counselling

The aim of counselling is to enable you to identify and explore how you feel about your experiences and, when or if you can, to talk about these experiences and the effects they have had on you.

You may feel nervous, awkward or embarrassed when you come for counselling for the first time. Most people do and this is understandable. Your counsellor is fully trained and capable and will be able to reassure you and put you at ease.

Everything you say in your counselling is confidential and is not passed on to anyone else, unless you request your counsellor to do so.

You would usually attend weekly sessions which are arranged by appointment and last for approximately one hour.

Counselling can help you to identify your problems, and look at all the ways you can deal with them. You can find a way that works for you and your life can start to improve. There is no set time for how long you will attend counselling and there are no quick fixes or easy answers. Many women coming for counselling have been subjected to many years of damaging abuse and this cannot be fixed in a few counselling sessions. The average time for women in counselling is between 3 and 9 months.

Some questions answered

Q. Where would I come for counselling?

A. You will have a choice of locations throughout South Ayrshire, from health centres to local Social Work Departments and Women's Aid Centres. You can also choose to visit one of our centres in Kilmarnock or Cumnock. By doing this you will also be able to gain access to other services and resources such as groups, alternative therapies, relaxation, CDs, books and so on.

Q. When is the service available?

A. Counselling appointments are available Monday - Thursday, 9.30 am - 4.00pm with evening appointments available on request. The worker for South Ayrshire can be contacted Monday 9.00am - 4.00pm; Tuesday - Thursday 9.00am - 5.00pm and Friday 9.00am - 2.00pm.
Telephone Crisis Line 01563 541769 (Hours open?)

Q. Who will the counsellor be and what training will they have?

A. Firstly, all counsellors and support workers working with Rape Crisis network are female. The worker for South Ayrshire is extremely professional and has a long history in the counselling profession.

Q. Will I be able to meet other survivors?

A. Yes, groups are facilitated regularly but only after some individual counselling.

Q. Will I be able to bring someone with me?

A. We fully understand that coming for counselling can be nerve-racking the first time so yes it's okay to bring along a friend, worker or relative for the first few sessions.