Introducing our 2023-2024 Impact Report

Jun 20

We’re pleased to announce the launch of our 2023 – 2024 Impact Report, which gives an overview of our achievements over the last year, supporting people who've experienced rape, exploitation, domestic and sexual abuse in Cumbria.

This year’s report highlights the dedication and innovation of the Safety Net team. Despite increasing referral numbers, and an ongoing cost of living crisis, we’ve found creative solutions to extend our support to more individuals than ever before and even reduced the waiting time for therapy from nine to six months.

The scale of the problem in Cumbria

Recent data from the Office of National Statistics shows that sexual offences in Cumbria are at an all-time high, and whilst domestic abuse offences dipped ever so slightly (a reduction of 1.7% from the year before), the overall figures remain incredibly high. This has led to Safety Net supporting 1037 individuals in the 2023-24 period - the highest amount since the charity was founded and a 5% increase since the previous year. In addition, 70% of adults and 88% of children supported by us presented with moderate to high levels of trauma at their initial assessment.

Our outcome scores

Despite the challenges that come with a rise in demand, we've witnessed year-on-year improvements in several outcomes that matter for both adults and children. Our clients have seen:

Reduced symptoms of trauma
Improved health and well-being
Improved ability to manage police, criminal justice and court proceedings.

Whilst it is brilliant to see an improvement in our wellbeing and symptoms of trauma scores, many of our other measures stayed the same or dipped slightly. We believe that this is primarily due to the ongoing cost of living crisis, which is causing many of our service users to present with more complex needs than in previous years, especially when it pertains to mental health.

Some local survivors, who feature in the report, have the following to say about Safety Net:

“The support I received has given me the tools to help look after myself so much better. It’s helped me look at the way I feel and understand it more, also help me to calm my mind when my emotions start to run.”

“The most consistent support I have had from any service. It has really helped me come to terms with trauma and to blame myself less for what happened.”

“Safety Net has helped in showing me better coping strategies for PTSD and anxiety. In all my sessions I have felt like I was listened to, and my past trauma was taken very seriously.”

Read the 2023 – 2024 Impact Report in full.

Over the next few months we will be running a campaign to highlight these key outcome figures across social media. Please follow and share to help us spread the message:

Twitter: @safetynetnorth

Facebook: @safetynetnorth

Instagram: @safetynet_uk