Supporting Victims and Witnesses
MOPAC commissions a range of support services and interventions for victims and witnesses of crime in London, and for individuals at risk of becoming involved in crime. This page provides details for stakeholders on what these services do, and how to refer cases to them.
London Victim and Witness Service (LVWS)
The main ‘front door’ for victim/witness referrals in London, the London Victim and Witness Service provides support for adult victims and witnesses of crime. The range of support includes:
- Practical and emotional support and advice for adult victims of crime;
- Independent Advocacy for victims/survivors of domestic abuse;
- Access to Restorative Justice;
- Pre-trial support for witnesses;
- Support for victims and witnesses of major crime incidents;
- Named caseworker allocated for all referrals.
How to access the service:
Referrals can also be emailed
24hr support line: 0808 1689 291
Children & Young People’s Victim and Witness Support Service
The Children & Young People’s Victim and Witness Support Service provides practical and emotional support to young victims and witnesses of crime in London.
- Support is provided on a one to one basis by trained caseworkers in a confidential space that is suitable for children & young people;
- The Children and Young People’s Victim and Witness Service supports children and young people aged 4-17 affected by crime, whether it has been reported to the police or not;
- The Service also provides pre-trial support for young witnesses attending court.
How to access the service
24hr support line: 0808 1689 111
The National Homicide Service
Providing specialist emotional support and advice for families bereaved by homicide, services include:
- Guidance, advocacy and support through the criminal justice system;
- Practical support such as with funeral arrangements, financial affairs and housing issues;
- Specialist support such as trauma therapy and bereavement counselling;
- Peer Support Service;
- Access to pro-bono legal support;
- Support with murders overseas.
How to access the service
Telephone: 0300 303 1984
London Survivors Gateway
The Gateway provides a single point of contact for survivors of sexual violence, their families and agencies.
The service provides information on what help is available in London after rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse or any form of sexual violence, along with support to access these services. The Gateway works with anyone aged 13 or above regardless of gender, sexuality, disability, language, ethnicity or immigration status.
The Gateway is a partnership between the four London Rape Crisis Centres, Galop, Survivors UK and the Havens and is run by the Women and Girls Network.
How to access the service
Telephone: 0808 801 0860
The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse is a multi-agency service for children and young people who have experienced any form of sexual abuse, including exploitation. They offer a child-centred approach, providing guidance and support to help children and young people recover.
This service is available to children and young people (0-18) and adults aged 18-25 with learning disabilities in Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington.
How to access the service
Referrals can come from parents or carers, schools, social workers and the police. Young people over 13 years can also refer themselves.
Telephone: 020 3049 0010
Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Project (MASIP)
MASIP supports closer and more coordinated working arrangements between local services to better manage the behaviour of stalking perpetrators to reduce the risk to victims and the community.
MASIP is a multi-agency partnership (including police, mental health, probation, crown prosecution service, and a stalking advocate from Suzy Lamplugh Trust) which reviews incoming cases daily, with referrals coming in from mental health teams in London Boroughs as well as Suzy Lamplugh Trust.
How to access the service
For advice and support for stalking call the Suzy Lamplugh Trust National Stalking Helpline on 0808 802 0300
CATCH - Community Alliance To Combat Hate
CATCH provides a London-wide hate crime victims' advocacy service to help victims cope and recover, navigate the criminal justice service, increase feelings of safety and reduce the likelihood of repeat victimisation.
Specialist support is provided by a consortium including: Galop (tackling homophobia and transphobia), Community Security Trust (tackling antisemitism), Tell MAMA (tackling islamophobia), The Monitoring Group (tackling racism), Choice in Hackney (tackling disability hate crime), and Stay Safe East (tackling disability hate crime).
How to access the service
Racism - The Monitoring Group - Telephone: 020 7582 7438 or email.
Antisemitism - The Community Security Trust - Telephone: 020 8457 9999 or email.
Islamophobia - Tell MAMA - Report online.
Disability hate crime - CATCH - Report online.
LGBT+ hate crime - GALOP - Telephone: 020 7704 2040 or email.
For all other hate crime incidents, report to CATCH online.
Youth Support in Major Trauma Centres and A&E Departments
All four Major Trauma Centres (MTCs) in London have embedded youth work teams who support young victims of violence, domestic abuse and sexual exploitation (aged 11 to 25)
Redthread delivers services at Kings, St George’s and St Mary’s hospitals and St Giles Trust deliver the service at Royal London. Solace Women’s Aid deliver the youth IDVA posts that support young victims of domestic abuse and domestic violence.
Oasis Youth Service A&E programme works within the A&E Department of St Thomas’s hospital and North Middlesex hospital.
Youth workers engage with young victims of violence in the A&E. The work is done in the hospital immediately after the incident. It is at this critical juncture that young people are often willing to look at making significant changes to their lives.
How to access the service
You cannot directly refer into these services. Young people are identified as eligible for the service during their treatment in the A&E department.
For further information contact:
Redthread - Telephone: 0203 744 6888 or email.
Oasis - email.
Solace - Telephone: 0808 802 5565 or email.
London Gang Exit
London Gang Exit (LGE) is a support service that helps young Londoners to exit the gang; both those who are involved in youth violence and those who are exploited by them.
LGE offers a holistic service to young people tackling each of the key drivers of involvement in serious youth or group violence; including mental health support, employment support, family support, housing advocacy and specialist support for girls and women. Its aim is to achieve positive change for young people through providing advocacy, specialist support and practical tools.
To be eligible for referral, the young person (male or female) is required:
- To be aged between 16-24 who are affiliated with or involved in gangs.
- To be at significant risk of harm from gang activity, (such as through child sexual exploitation), or a risk to themselves, or posing a risk of harm to others.
- To show some motivation to end their gang involvement and a willingness to cooperate with the LGE service.
How to access the service
Referrals can come from any agency, as well as self and family referrals. Referrals can be made for specific, specialist parts of the LGE service (e.g. family support, mental health, housing) or for more generic support/casework.
Enquiries and full referrals need to be sent to the LGE Referral Unit:
Telephone: 020 3745 8374 or email.
County Lines - Rescue and Response
The service supports young people up to the age of 24 who are involved in and/or exploited through county lines drug dealing networks. Young people must reside in London to be eligible for the service.
How to access the service
Referrals can be made via online form.
Telephone: 020 7708 8000
Email
Taith Services
Taith is an assessment and specialist intervention service for Children and Young People (CYP) aged five to 21 years with harmful or problematic sexual behaviour. Taith aims to enable children to control their harmful sexual behaviours, reduce their risk to others and help them develop safe and healthy relationships.
The service is available in nine boroughs: Barking & Dagenham, Bexley, Greenwich, Hammersmith & Fulham, Havering, Kensington & Chelsea, Redbridge, Wandsworth and Westminster.
How to access the service
If you are concerned about sexually harmful or problematic behaviour of a child or young person contact the Taith team:
Telephone: 0207 790 4621
Email
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