The service will provide specialist support for children and young people who are victims and witnesses of crime across London to help them cope and recover from their experiences.
Building on Catch22’s experience delivering support to victims of all ages in Hertfordshire, Leicestershire and Greater Manchester, the Young Londoners’ Victim Service will provide young people with trauma-informed and personalised emotional and practical support and advocacy.
The pan-London service will focus on ensuring young people achieve the following outcomes:
- Enhanced ability to cope and build resilience, enabling them to move forward with daily life
- Improved knowledge and a greater sense of empowerment
- Reduced risk of further victimisation and increased feelings of safety
- Improved health and well-being
- Access to the right support when needed
The Young Londoners’ Victim Service will form part of a wider ecosystem of support services across the capital to improve victims’ outcomes and ensure that no victim is left behind – the London Victim and Witness Service (LVWS).
Partnership delivery for the Young Londoners’ Victim Service alongside Advance, London Youth and Kooth will provide young victims with holistic, wraparound support. Advance will support the delivery of the service through the provision of specialist caseworkers dedicated to young women and girls. London Youth will develop and deliver training to Trusted Youth Allies (TYA) in the community, as part of the TYA programme. The service will also provide children and young people with front-door access to Kooth, an online mental health service.
Sophie Linden, London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, said:
Emma Jones, Assistant Director (Victims), Catch22, said:
Frances Rahman, Advance’s Head of Young Women & Girls, said:
With Catch22’s record of advocating for victims’ rights, and that of partners Advance, London Youth and Kooth, of delivering effective support for victims, this service promises to make a lasting difference to the lives of young victims in London.
The service will go live on October 1st 2024.
Media enquiries
For more information, please contact Tracie Couper, Press Officer at Advance, at tracie.c@advancecharity.org.uk or on 0743 2700 287.
About Advance
- Advance’s vision is a world in which women and children lead safe, equal, violence-free lives so that they can flourish and actively contribute to society. The charity works with women who experience domestic abuse to be safe and take control of their lives, and women who have committed crime or are at risk of offending to break the cycle.
- As well as providing direct support, Advance works with statutory services, government agencies and other women’s charities to ensure a holistic approach to the issues these women face.
- Women must be referred to Advance, via statutory services or the charity’s self-referral scheme. For more information about who Advance is able to support, please visit Get help
- For facts and statistics about domestic abuse and women in the criminal justice system, as well as Advance’s work, please visit Our impact
