BBC NEWS: "Justice Secretary Robert Buckland 'sorry' for failing rape victims"

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland has apologised to rape victims for low conviction rates in England and Wales and promised to "do a lot better".

In an exclusive BBC interview, he said it was "not good enough" and admitted budget cuts were partly to blame. Rape convictions have fallen to a record low in recent years. The government said it was now considering allowing victims to pre-record their evidence to spare them the trauma of a courtroom trial.

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Following this article on BBC News practitioners may be looking for opportunities to build skills and confidence in recognising and working with those at risk of, or experiencing, sexual exploitation, violence and trauma.

Child Sexual Exploitation: Practice Development Thursday 29th June (0930-1600) 

This interactive practice development workshop is delivered by CYP First and offers the opportunity to consider sexual violence within exploitation and its impact on safeguarding practice. You will explore how to engage and support young people, at risk of, or who have been abused through CSE. The session covers disruption methods and using a contextual safeguarding model. Free CSE eLearning is recommended as pre-learning if you are not familiar with this topic. 

Impact of Sexual Trauma Tuesday 6th July (0930-1600) 

This powerful seminar is essential to anyone working with survivors of sexual trauma; regardless of how old they were when the abuse occurred and how much time has elapsed since. Delivered by Zoe Lodrick, the seminar will offer an understanding of the impact of sexual trauma, the behaviour of offenders and how to safeguard people from them. 

Working with Disclosures of Non-Recent Sexual Abuse Thursday 25th & Friday 26th November  (1300-1600)

This brand new two part seminar, delivered by sexualised trauma specialist, Zoe Lodrick, will offer an insight in to working with disclosures of non-recent sexual abuse; how to respond and support the individual. 

All sessions are £75 per place- for funding and cancellation info please see T&C’s.

Please visit Safeguarding Bedfordshire to book your place. Click here to be added to our mailing list.