Great strides have been made to ensure that sexual abuse isn’t the taboo topic it once was.

Today, services and organisations are in place providing support to those who have broken their silence and finally opened up, in confidence, about the trauma they have experienced and carried with them throughout their lives.

However, one Bradford woman believes there remains a gap in long-term specialist support for adult survivors within the ethnic minority community who have experienced child sexual abuse or sexual violence at any point in their life. She is hoping to bridge that gap through a project offering help and support.

Sophia is a young Pakistani Muslim who, through her background in the legal profession, is aware of the experiences of sufferers she has come into contact with.

After spending many years researching and working on Unity & Hope, an organisation providing support for victims of sexual abuse, Sophia is now bringing the project to public attention through her online petition. She hopes the more support she can attract will hopefully encourage the Government to support the project.

“The vision is to set up a dedicated service for women and girls who have suffered childhood sexual abuse. I know people will say there are services, but there is no dedicated service for the ethnic minority community,” she says.

Sophia refers to a Glasgow-based service called Roshni working extensively with ethnic minority communities and partners across Scotland.

She hopes to set up a local project working along similar lines, raising awareness and providing support. She says the aims of Unity & Hope are: l To improve the responses, practices and support services for adult survivors, in particular women and girls from Asian communities who have experienced child sexual abuse and/or sexual violence at any point in their life or are currently at risk l Raise awareness of the long-term effects and impact this can often have into adult life.

l Campaign for an end to child sexual abuse and sexual violence, particularly against women and girls l Challenge myths, taboos, victimisation, and pathologisation of women and girls who have experienced child sexual abuse or sexual violence.

Sophia claims that within the UK the portrayal of Asian women and girls and their experiences of sexual violence and abuse is overlooked or under-represented.

She believes services are failing to identify cultural differences and challenges faced by Asian women and girls, which means failing to ensure women and girls from all backgrounds have access to equal support. This, she says, further magnifies the difficulties in determining the precise scale of crime and violence committed against Asian women and girls.

Feeling they are to blame, or that they won’t be believed, or fearing isolation, social exclusion, stigma, disempowerment, victimisation or ostracisation are just some of the issues faced by some Asian women and girls, says Sophia. They may also face reprisals by families or communities.

Sophia says a reason why people from ethnic minorities may be under-represented is due to cultural background, shame and embarrassment, as sexual abuse often isn’t a subject for discussion in Asian communities.

Her vision is to set up a service locally for adult women and girls, which is inclusive of Asian women and girls, who have experienced child sexual abuse or sexual violence at any point in their lives or are at risk.

Child sexual abuse and sexual violence affects thousands of women and children every year from all parts of the country and from all backgrounds. Various forms of violence against women, including emotional, psychological, sexual and physical abuse, coercion and constraints, are all interlinked.

Through her background working within mental health services, and through researching the issue, Sophia has seen how it can have a ripple effect, impacting on healthcare and relationships.

Thankfully, though, the issue of sexual abuse is emerging from behind closed doors as more and more people find the confidence to talk about their traumatic past with the hope that they can finally move on with their lives.

“I think we are seeing a shift. We have made progress within the criminal justice system and the more protection that has been made people are coming forward, but there is still that taboo and that stigma attached,” says Sophia.

For further information, visit unityhope.co.uk.