Helpline Details

Call 01865 726 295 or freephone 0800 783 6294
24 Hour Answerphone: 01865 726 295

Opening times

Day	Opens	Closes
Monday	18:30	21:00
Thursday	18:30	21:00
Friday	11:30	14:00
Sunday	18:00	20:30

What to expect when you call

When you call the OSARCC phone line, a trained volunteer will be there to support you and give you the chance to talk about whatever is on your mind in complete confidence. If you call outside our line times (or if the line is busy), you will be able to listen to our answerphone message and then leave a message for us to call you back if you wish.

This page is designed to explain how we work and to hopefully alleviate any worries you have about calling.

We offer a non-directive and non-judgemental listening service

By ‘non-directive’, we mean that we won’t impose our views on you about your decisions and we won’t try to influence you to make a particular choice. By ‘non-judgemental’, we mean that we will not judge you and will respect your decisions. Our role is not to give you advice or counselling; we want to give you space to talk about whatever is on your mind. We will listen and may ask questions, and if you want us to we will give you details of external resources you may find useful.

Our volunteer lineworkers are part of a collective of women

We are people who:

• Care about your problems
• Have received training in the issues surrounding rape and sexual abuse
• Know that it takes courage to call us
• Will believe you 
• Are not easily shocked

Our service is confidential

You don't have to give us your name or any other information about you. We don’t trace calls, so unless you give us identifying information (such as your full name or address) you will remain anonymous.

We won’t repeat anything you tell us to anybody outside the collective. Details of calls are shared within OSARCC - we make notes about each call, and information is shared between collective members and the OSARCC supervisor - but we are very careful to make sure that this information is not passed on to anybody else.

We will only break confidentiality if you give us your express permission to, or if you've given us identifying information and we're concerned for your (or somebody else's) safety.

Your first call can be as long or as short as you wish

We take initial calls that are just a few minutes long and others that are up to an hour - you are free to stay on the phone for as long as you like and can end the call at any point. If it is getting close to our closing time we'll let you know so that you can use the final few minutes however you want to.

There is no limit to the number of times you call us and we will speak to you for up to an hour on each occasion. Women and girls who call us regularly are welcome to call us for up to an hour each week, if we move to this limit we will give you notice and explain it to you. This hour could be used as one hour-long call, or split into several shorter sessions over the week - you can decide. If you decide not to call us for a while, this is ok too - you will be welcome to call again in the future.

Who can call?

• Women and girls who are currently experiencing sexual abuse or harassment
• Women and girls who have recently been raped or sexually assaulted
• Women and girls who experienced any of the above in the past, no matter how long ago it happened
• Partners, family and friends of people who have been raped or sexually abused

We do not currently offer ongoing support to men who have suffered or are suffering sexual abuse. If you are a male survivor, we can signpost you to services which are better able to support you, please call us if you would like more information.

What if I don’t get through when I call?

If you have called outside the line times, leave a message with your name and number, and we will try to call you back the next time we are open. If you’ve called when the line is open and haven’t got through, keep trying. If you still don't get through, call back the next time the line is open or leave a message on our answerphone.