Colleagues from West Sussex County Council and Domestic & Sexual Violence and Abuse service providers co-ordinated in November and December across the county as part of 16 Days of Activism. This included events at Worthing Hospital as part of White Ribbon Day, joint public interactions between providers and Sussex Police, and a webinar on Online Safety for Women & Girls run by our Digital Safety and Fraud Prevention Team alongside the Southeast Reginal Crime Unit.
You can make the White Ribbon Promise, a personal commitment to never use, excuse or remain silent about violence against women. You can also sign up as a White Ribbon Ambassador or Champion, wear a White Ribbon and share and promote information on this important subject.
For those experiencing abuse, Christmas can be just another day of danger. Excessive drinking, financial pressure and people spending more time at home are all reasons that domestic abuse statistically rises over the festive period. This December colleagues from WORTH Services will be visiting vulnerable victim-survivors of domestic abuse with Sussex Police as part of the joint engagement strategy Operation Hope.
Find out more information and where to access help and support on the topics highlighted by following the link below.
WORTH services Christmas opening hours WORTH Domestic & Sexual Violence and Abuse services are operating as normal over the Christmas period, but will be closed on bank holidays - Wednesday 25 (Christmas Day) and Thursday 26 (Boxing Day) December 2024, and Wednesday 1 January (New Year's Day) 2025. At these times, you can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline. In an emergency always contact the Police on 999.
Between 25th November – 1st December 2024, Sussex Police led on County Lines Intensification Week with a focus on tackling child exploitation. This was a successful period of partnership activity across West Sussex to target offenders and safeguard victims with some key achievements including:
- The arrest of 32 people arrested and 4 warrants executed. This lead to 5 weapons being taken off the street.
- Significant amounts drugs were seized including crack cocaine, heroin, cocaine and cannabis and a total of £36,730 was recovered.
- 19 adults and 18 children were safeguarded from further harm.
In addition to this intensive activity, there was also extensive engagement to raise awareness of child exploitation and keep our communities safe. This saw Police Officers from Neighbourhood Police Teams carry out high visibility foot patrols in the most problematic spaces. Neighbourhood Youth Officers also visited schools delivering exploitation lessons to children and young people to help them recognise the signs of criminal and sexual exploitation and understand the impact of knife crime.
There was also strong support throughout the week from other agencies and their participation proved invaluable and helped to foster a strong sense of joint community guardianship. This included colleagues from Chichester District Council, Arun District Council, Anti-Social Behaviour Officers from Mid Sussex Council and practitioners from Youth Justice Service undertaking visits to hotels across Chichester, Bognor, Crawley, Littlehampton and Horsham to help develop responses to exploitation in these settings.
For more information on how to support people and how to report County Lines drug dealing, follow the link below.
Our "Are You Scam Savvy" events have been a resounding success in educating our local community about the growing threat of fraud and empowering individuals to protect themselves against online scams. Our Digital Safety and Fraud Prevention Team have delivered scam presentations all over West Sussex, bringing the community together to raise awareness about the rising threat of scams and offering practical tools and knowledge to help protect our local community from falling victim to the rising threats.
In addition to in-person events, we have made a point of reaching as many individuals as possible through digital platforms. Online resources, webinars and social media campaigns have allowed us to connect with even more people, especially those who are more vulnerable and may not be able to attend in person. Our efforts have ensured that scam awareness is available to everyone, no matter their schedule or location.
The positive response to these events have proven that by raising awareness, we are making a difference in building a stronger and more resilient community that is better equipped to spot and avoid scams.
If you would like to attend our next Are You Scam Savvy webinar in the New Year, tickets can be reserved by following the link below.
The Hospital Youth Worker pilot has now started in West Sussex at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester. This is funded through the Violence Reduction Partnership and led by WSCC and Health colleagues. The purpose is to provide proactive support for children who are attending hospital and who might have experienced violence or exploitation. It is identified that this can be a key ‘reachable moment’ where young people can access support and help.
Best practice and lessons learnt from similar work that has delivered in Royal Alexandra hospital in Brighton and implementing these in St Richard’s. The project is in its early stages but already there has been positive interactions and identification with children who are at risk of harm. We will now continue to embed the role within the hospital ecosystem and make the most of this opportunity.
|
