Today, as part of No More week, which aims to raise awareness of domestic and sexual violence, I want to highlight a new campaign from one of our valuable commissioned services, STARS Dorset. STARS (Sexual Trauma and Recovery Services) is a Dorset charity which offers one to one support, free of charge, for anyone of any age or gender who has a Dorset address and has experienced any form of sexual violence at any time in their life.

The work that STARS carries out as part of the commission from my Office is vital to ensuring survivors of sexual violence in Dorset have access to emotional and practical support. Their latest campaign #seemeforwhoIam focuses on the victim, seeking to shift the narrative away from victim blaming.

Stephanie Lee, Engagement Team Leader at STARS Dorset explained: “Our new initiative highlights the connection between a person and the experience of sexual violence.

“It tackles the negative stereotypes; the repeated tropes on what victims might have been wearing, that they somehow invited the behaviour or were drunk for instance; stereotypes which actively harms victims and how society sees them.

“With this initiative we are focusing on encouraging more people to talk about sexual violence, in order to show the realities of it. We want people to realise that sexual violence is not just someone else’s problem, it could happen to anyone.

“By challenging the assumptions people often make about victims, we want to ensure people instead focus on the person behind the experience. We want them to be seen as real people, with real lives.  

“#seemeforwhoIam is a powerful reminder to all survivors that they remain more than what happened to them. Through sharing stories, encouraging open conversations and challenging the harmful myths we know still exist, I know we can make a difference to people in Dorset.”

Thank you, Stephanie. This is an important campaign from STARS and one which I hope will help victims feel more comfortable in coming forward for professional support, knowing they will be believed. I look forward to seeing how it progresses and develops, and I hope it enables more survivors to open up about their experiences.

Over the next few months, I will be talking about the work that is happening across Dorset to tackle the concerns you have raised with me since I became PCC. We will take an in-depth look at the work my Office and our commissioned partners are doing in relation to issues such as Violence Against Women and Girls, Sexual Assault, Knife Crime and Violence. It is important to me as your representative in policing to show all that we are doing in Dorset to support our residents. Whether that is drug education and prevention initiatives or an insight into the victim services we commission like STARS and The Shores, we will be putting the spotlight on the crucial work happening in our county, as I continue to my mission to make Dorset an even safer place to live, work and visit.

David Sidwick

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner