welcome

The Matrix project and the Bradford Specialist Sexual Violence and Abuse Advisory Group (BSSVAAG) project are dedicated in memory of Professor Catherine Itzin.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/apr/12/catherine-itzin-obituary

Her proactive work in driving forward the Victims of Violence and Abuse Prevention Programme (VVAPP) at the Department of Health gave seed to both the Matrix and Bradford BSSVAAG projects. She also believed that victims/survivors should be increasingly involved in decisions shaping the design of their services.

Matrix aims to develop that vision of involvement via its Victim/Survivor Advisory Panel (VSAP) project for West Yorkshire. The Matrix–BSSVAAG project is a combined concept and its joint working model could be used in any of the 48 Criminal Justice Board areas of the UK.

For many survivors, finding out that they are not alone is a real surprise. In fact the global number of survivors reaches into the hundreds of millions, as evidenced by the latest United Nations research. In the UK alone, the officially accepted figures are that 1 in 4 females and 1 in 6 males will have experienced some form of sexually abusive incident by the age of 16.

That works out at about 11 million UK citizens who will have experienced sexual violence/abuse before they are 16. However, the brutal truth is that it’s easier to raise funding for almost any other issue, regardless of whether it is the state, foundations and trusts, or the general public that is being approached.

Many academics believe this is due to society blaming the victim in child abuse and adult rape cases. Such beliefs are driven by powerful cultural myths – myths which reinforce the idea that victims are ‘not like us’. Further, in the case of sexual violence/abuse, the victim becomes perceived as ‘unclean’ once abused. No wonder silence is the chosen pathway for the majority of survivors! 

Such silencing is like a cultural prison sentence, one without hope of parole for far too many survivors. Services often receive calls from men and women in their 80s or 90s who are disclosing sexual violence in their early lives for the first time.

These men and women have often held their experiences within, as a private and silent distress, since childhood. But like viruses, the effects of abuse find ways to influence all survivors’ lives and the lives of those around them. Survivors’ fear of attachment can all too often lead to negative coping strategies, such as using drink and drugs and limiting personal relationships, to name just some.

One might think, given the facts above, that governments would spend hundreds of millions of pounds on supporting child and adult victims and their families and supporters – especially in the case of child victims.

The truth is that as a society we really do look the other way, including those of us in government; although some parts of government are willing to explore progressive change for victim services, the Scottish Parliament and Home Offices and the Office of Criminal Justice Reform being positive examples. Others simply write off survivors as being damaged and unable to recover and therefore not worthy of any investment. 

However, by upholding such cultural resistance to the subject we actually feed the silencing of sexual crime victims. That silence in turn feeds the culture in question, allowing abusers in all their forms to grow and flourish.

Matrix forms a small step in the process of breaking that silence by allowing victims/survivors to know they are not alone in West Yorkshire and to find the specialist help services currently available. Services for girls and women are limited; they are even more limited for boys and men.

Matrix’s sister projects will work via creative partnerships to develop those missing services, including supporting the West Yorkshire police to work more effectively with survivors.  

In the meantime, as that work continues, we ask you to make a donation in support of these aims. The launch funding for this site came from assets seized from criminal activities and formed a one-off grant. It is hoped that the ongoing work of Matrix will be fuelled by the growing generosity of the whole community. In donating, you will be helping to send a clear message to all victims that they are welcomed home from their silence.  

We hope survivors will use the Matrix well: may it lead you to good support and may it also increase community insight into survivors’ needs.