Gloucestershire

Phone

0808 281 0112

If you’ve been affected by crime, call your local victim care team in Gloucestershire. Lines are open 9am-8pm, Monday to Friday.

Supportline

08 08 16 89 111

If you need support outside of your local team’s opening hours, you can call our Supportline for free. Or find other ways to get help.  

Get help from your local team

Call us

If you’ve been affected by crime, call your local victim care team in Gloucestershire on:

Lines are open 9am-8pm Monday to Friday.

If you need telephone support outside of your local team’s opening hours, you can call our Supportline, for free, on 08 08 16 89 111. Supportline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Go online

Our free live chat support service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You can also request support via the website. A member of the team will get back to you within three working days.

My Support Space is a free online resource containing interactive guides aimed at helping you to manage the impact crime has had on you. It’s easy to set up an account and get access to over 70 guides. My Support Space allows you to work through the guides at your own pace.

How we can help

We give free and confidential help to adults, children and young people who have been affected by crime or antisocial behaviour in Gloucestershire. We’re an independent charity and you can contact us for support regardless of whether you’ve contacted the police, and no matter how long ago the crime took place. You can also contact us for support regardless of your immigration status in England and Wales.

If you call your local Victim Support team, we’ll provide support that’s personalised to you. We’ll listen with compassion and help you find ways to manage and feel safer. We can also inform you of your rights and the services that you may be entitled to. If you’d like us to, we can refer you to other specialist organisations that can also help.

One of the families we’ve helped move on from the impact of crime is Calum*, his wife Sarah* and their daughter Millie*, who returned from a holiday to find their house had been burgled.

After reporting the crime to the police, Calum, Sarah and Millie were referred to Victim Support to help them move forward after the experience.

As the first person to discover the burglary, the incident left 10-year-old Millie feeling traumatised and scared in her own home. Despite continuous support and reassurance from her parents, she felt fearful and anxious, afraid that ‘the man will get her’. She was afraid to leave her parents’ side and felt too scared to sleep on her own.

Lauren and John from Victim Support met with Millie and her parents to give them the support they needed for Millie to move on after the burglary. They gave Millie a ‘worry eater’ toy and explained that she could write down her worries and put them inside the toy, so that she didn’t feel so anxious at night.

We also gave support to Millie’s parents. We showed them how to use a range of activities with Millie to help her regain her confidence and feel safer in the home.

After receiving our support, Millie eventually felt safe enough to sleep in her own bed, and regularly uses the worry eater toy to comfort her when she feels anxious. We also encouraged Millie’s parents to put her in contact with her school counsellor for ongoing support at school.

“The people who visited her were very supportive and understanding; the ideas they suggested were very good and things have significantly improved.” – Calum, Millie’s father.

*Names changed to protect identity.

As well as offering confidential and independent help to people affected by crime, we run a number of specialist services in Gloucestershire. These include:

STREET Gloucestershire (Safe Teenage Relationship and Empowerment Team)

STREET provide specialist support to young people aged 13-19 affected by domestic or teenage relationship abuse. We also support young people who are displaying harmful behaviours towards a parent/carer or partner.

Our specially trained team of domestic abuse practitioners offer one-to-one and group programmes providing tailored support around young people’s experiences of abuse. This includes:

  • keeping safe
  • understanding the impact of domestic abuse
  • exploring healthy relationships.

STREET also offers a young person’s violence adviser (YPVA) to those currently experiencing abuse. We aim to help minimise risk and stay safe from harm.

To speak to us about STREET services or to make a referral please call 01452 228802, or email streetreferrals@victimsupport.org.uk

Children and young people

Crime affects everyone, and children and young people can be especially vulnerable. In Gloucestershire we support all those who need it, including young people.

We have specially trained supporters to help young people and families. Issues can range from experiencing bullying or harassment in person or online, to assault or theft of property. Our message is that bullying may not be a crime in itself but some of the things that bullies do can be.

All our support for young people is victim-led. We look at the needs of each person and tailor support to help them find ways to manage and feel safer. We can also work with a parent or carer to help them support the young person. This can be in a family group or with the young person directly. For more information on how we can support children and young people in Gloucestershire, visit You Got This Glos.

Gloucestershire hate crime reporting line

We host the Gloucestershire hate crime reporting line, where you can report hate incidents you’ve experienced or witnessed. Call us on 0800 077 8460.

We encourage anyone who has experienced targeted victimisation because of any aspect of their identity or perceived identity, to call in and tell us about it. You can do this anonymously if you prefer.

If you’ve been called names, verbally abused, threatened, harassed, bullied, assaulted or harmed in any way because of who you are, what you look like, or even if a perpetrator thinks you’re ‘different’, you can get in touch., We offer support whether you decided to report it to the police or not.

We’re always working towards addressed the issue of hate incidents and crime. We may share information with other agencies to help us gain a better understanding of what’s happening in Gloucestershire. This information can be anonymised.

Sexual violence and domestic abuse

In Gloucestershire we recognise the significant impact that sexual violence and domestic abuse can have on those experiencing it. We work with the following organisations to support people affected by these crimes:

Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS)

A county-wide service designed to reduce the level of domestic abuse and improve the safety of victims and their families. GDASS provides an outreach service in all districts. Its aim is to reduce the number of high risk cases, and cases where people are forced to flee.

Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (GRASAC)

GRASAC provides a range of specialist services for women and girls who have been raped or experienced another form of sexual violence – whether as adults or as children.

Hope House Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC)

If you, or someone you know, have been the victim of sexual assault, the staff at Hope House SARC, Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, are here to help. Visit Hope House SARC in person or phone them on 01452 754 390 (out of hours 0845 090 1234) for support. They can also help you report the incident to the police, but only if you wish to do so.

We work with a number of partner organisations in Gloucester to make sure you get the support you need. Find out more about some of the services and organisations we work with.

Please note, Victim Support is not responsible for the content of third-party websites.