Telephone helpline

Service Update

The helpline will be closed on:

Sunday 22 December 2024
Sunday 29 December 2024
Wednesday 1 January 2025
Sunday 5 January 2025

During these periods the email support service will be open as usual.

Alternatively, you can contact the national 24/7 Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Line on 0808 500 2222.

What is the helpline?

If you need to talk, you can call the helpline during opening hours to speak with one of our trained volunteers.

If you are calling for the first time you will have up to 45 minutes (up to 30 minutes after that) to chat with one of our trained volunteers over the phone.

During the session, the volunteer will create a safe space for you to talk, and we will listen to whatever you want to say, at your pace.

Don’t worry if you don’t know where to begin. We will help you to find ways to express difficult feelings and talk about difficult situations, without offering advice or telling you what to do.

We can ask questions and listen while you explore your options, and if you ask us for information about other forms of support, we can help provide this too.

Who is the service for?

Our helpline service is available for those who have been subjected to, or are being subjected to, any form of sexual violence and/or abuse, and who are:

  • women
  • girls
  • AFAB non-binary individuals
  • individuals who have experienced oppression as women

This includes women and girls who are trans.

It doesn’t matter when this abuse happened, whether recently or a long time ago, we are here for you.

The service is for these survivors of all ages, backgrounds and sexual orientation and who feel comfortable receiving support from a service that is run by women for women.

We are also here for woman, girl and AFAB non-binary supporters who are supporting these survivors, personally or professionally.

Helpline number

Opening hours

  • Wednesdays 7pm – 9.30pm

  • Sundays 10am – 12.30pm

If we have to close the helpline unexpectedly, we will advertise this on our Facebook page.

Useful resources

Other support services

Queries

If you have any queries about the helpline service, please have a read through our FAQs below. If you don’t find the answer you need, you can contact us at:

Frequently Asked Questions

When you call us during our opening times, you will hear a pre-recorded message letting you know that you have got through.

After this, the phone will ring and if you call isn’t answered immediately (within 10 seconds of the pre-recorded message ending), it means all of our volunteers are currently on calls and we encourage you to call back and try again later that session.

If you call us outside our opening times, you will hear a pre-recorded message giving our opening time. We are unable to accept voice messages or text messages.

In order to make sure that we can reach as many women and girls as possible, we set time limits on your calls to us.

When you speak to us for the first time, the call can last up to 45 minutes. After that, you can phone us up to two times a week for a call lasting up to 30 minutes each time.

Even if you call near the end of the session, we will still talk to you for up to half an hour.

Some callers speak to us only once, some phone regularly, others use our service as and when they need to over a period of years.

Some calls last only a few minutes, some the full 30 minutes.

Frequency and length of call depends entirely on what you find most helpful.

No, you don’t have to give us your name or any identifying details about yourself. Although, if you find you are ringing regularly you might want to give us a name or pseudonym (made-up name) to help us recognise you.

You can talk to us about anything in complete confidence. We will never repeat anything you say outside of Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre (CRCC).

We do discuss our helpline calls with other volunteers within the service (see ‘Can I always speak to the same volunteer?’). However, we ensure this information never reaches anyone outside of CRCC.

We don not report anything that is said to us to the police or any other outside body. Our Confidentiality, Data Protection and Sharing Information Policy is available for download if you want further information.

If you are under 18, we will not pass on anything you say unless you tell us your full name and address, and ask us to report to the county safeguarding team on your behalf. We respect your right to make decisions about your own life.

Our volunteers are women of all ages (18 years +) and backgrounds.

This includes trans women and girls and non-binary individuals who have complex gender identities which include ‘woman’ and those who have experienced oppression as women and who feel comfortable volunteering within a service that is run by women for women.

Calls are charged at a local rate.

If you would like us to call you back, please ask and we will happily do so. We will withhold our number when we call you back so that no-one else will be able to see who has called you, however, if you have an itemised phone bill our number will appear on it.

If you call us more than once, your calls will be answered by different volunteers.

Our volunteers are all trained in providing support to survivors of sexual violence, and we do discuss helpline calls within the volunteer team. This is to encourage each other to deliver a good and consistent support service. It also makes it less likely that you will have to repeat yourself if you call more than once and speak to different volunteers.

We treat all forms of sexual abuse seriously and are here for you.

If doesn’t matter if you’re not sure how to name it, if you don’t fully remember or if you aren’t sure how you feel about it, we will listen and talk this through with you.

If your call isn’t answered immediately (within 10 seconds of the pre-recorded message), it means all of our volunteers are on calls and we encourage your to hang up and try again later that session.

It is possible that you may not be able to get through to us if we are very busy. We understand that this might feel difficult or disappointing, and we encourage you to try again the next time we are open.

We are unable to accept voice messages or text messages, however, you can send us an email any time via our email support service.

See also ‘Where else can I get support?’.

We understand that talking about sexual violence can be really difficult. We won’t rush you to speak, and if you can’t talk very much or at all we can stay on the phone quietly with you. Sometimes having a human connection can really help.

We never record helpline calls. Your voice is only heard by the volunteer you are speaking to at the time.

We do keep brief notes of calls which include your first name, if you choose to give it to us. These notes are shared within the volunteer team, to help us provide a good and consistent service. It also makes it less likely that you will have to repeat yourself if you call more than once and speak to different volunteers.

These notes are kept strictly confidential within Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre.

We do not see your phone number when your call comes in and we do not trace calls.

Your phone number will be held by our phone provider, unless you choose to withhold your number when you call us. If you have an itemised phone bill, our helpline number will show on it.

Our helpline is for women and girls.

While we recognise the experiences and pain of male survivors, here at Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre we have found that a women-only service provision is an invaluable environment for many female callers.

We recognise the need for specialist services for male survivors and more information about these services can be found here.

Our helpline service is available for those who have been subjected to, or are being subjected to, any form of sexual violence and/or abuse, and who are:

  • women
  • girls
  • AFAB non-binary individuals
  • individuals who have experienced oppression as women

This includes women and girls who are trans.

It doesn’t matter when this abuse happened, whether recently or a long time ago, we are here for you.

The service is for these survivors of all ages, backgrounds and sexual orientation and who feel comfortable receiving support from a service that is run by women for women.

We are also here for woman, girl and AFAB non-binary supporters who are supporting these survivors, personally or professionally.

We understand that it can be difficult to talk to us if you’re not confident speaking English, and we will listen to you and support you as best we can.

If you would like to speak to us in a language other than English, please email us or call us and we will try to arrange support for you if we can, or suggest another organisation that may be able to help.

You are welcome to send us an email, letter or call us at the office (full contact details are available on the contact us page). Also, you can fill out our online feedback form if you want to give us more detailed feedback on your experiences of our service. If you have any issues with this form and/or would like to request a paper copy sent to you via post, please call our enquiries number 01223 313 551 or email contact@cambridgerapecrisis.org.uk

Any feedback we get is treated anonymously, whether it is good or bad, and helps us to improve our service. We do sometimes use anonymous comments in reports to our funders and supporters, so if you don’t want your comments to be used please tell us.

Finally, if you wish to make a formal complaint about the helpline service, our Service User Complaints Policy is available here.

Our helpline volunteers will end a conversation if they believe they are dealing with a prank or abusive caller.

Where else can I get support?

If you need to talk outside our opening hours, you may want to contact the national rape crisis helpline:

National 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line (Rape Crisis England & Wales)

National Telephone Helpline: 0808 500 2222

The 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line is a free service that offers confidential emotional support, information and referral details for anyone aged 16+ in England and Wales who has been affected by rape, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment or any other forms of sexual violence – at any point in their life.

This includes people who have been subjected to sexual violence themselves, as well as their friends, family or anyone else who is trying to support them.

Not sure what happened to you or if it ‘counts’? This service is for you too.

The helpline is open 24hrs, every day of the year.

For more information about the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line click here.