Today, March 8th, is International Women's Day. A day in which we celebrate globally the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. On this day, we also organise action to raise awareness on and address the barriers that continue to prevent women from fully thriving in today's world.

Despite the #MeToo movement, violence against women continues to be prevalent in all societies. In Oxfordshire alone, last year, Thames Valley Police recorded 5,539 sexual offences, a 16% increase on the previous year.  Given that one in five women (and one in 25 men) are victims of a sexual offence in their adult lifetimes - and given that only around 15% of women who experience sexual offences report to the police -  we know that the actual figure is very much higher.

So today on International Women's Day, I am organising a collection for Oxfordshire Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre or OSARCC (www.osarcc.org.uk), an organisation that I have been volunteering with for a year now. OSARCC is the only specialist provider of holistic services to survivors of sexual violence in Oxfordshire. OSARCC provides free confidential support, such as phone, email and text support, support groups, advocacy and one-to-one counselling services.  Our services are informed by our values, which are non-judgemental, non-directive, and empowering. Service users describe our support as 'life-changing.' 

OSARCC has developed from a helpline in someone's front room 40 years ago to an organisation with 20 staff and around 75 volunteers.  Our service provision grows each year, but demand grows faster, and the waiting list for one-to-one counselling is now a year long.

We want to be there for all survivors who need support, and as part of our 40th birthday celebrations we are aiming to raise an extra £40k to support our work.  We’ve reached approximately £30K of this target so between now and the 31st of March we are in our final push to raise funds.

Thank you in advance for your support.  We very much appreciate it!