A new charity which aims to help victims of sexual abuse is seeking donations.

Ellan Vannin Victims Service launched a GoFundMe campaign a few days ago and already it has received more than £1,300.

Money raised will go towards helping victims of sexual assault, with therapy offered if required so that people don’t need to wait for the NHS service for long periods.

Funds will also provide a dedicated premises, somewhere the charity says could have small and practical space for victims to feel safe.

Christine Urquhart and Tambara Brereton started the charity this month.

Ms Urquhart, who is a victim of sexual assault, said she and her colleague were thrilled with the response to the campaign so far.

’It’s phenomenal, we’ve got just over £1,200 in three days,’ she said.

’We just decided on Saturday to do this and the website is still being worked on but it should go "live" by the end of the week.

’It’s a vision I had about four years ago, when I noticed so many gaps in provision, through my own experiences and then through representing victims.

’I realised how many people are going through what I went through - that sense of abandonment and that feeling of being alone that no-one really understood.

’It felt like all of the people in other services were "ticking boxes", and making sure they’d done their job but they weren’t actually understanding the person suffering in front of them and what they were feeling or going through.’

Ms Urquhart said Ellan Vannin Victims Service would fill a void which, she said, had otherwise been neglected in the past.

’We’re going to fill that gap and create stringent, robust pathways of care with programmes to help people get back into the workplace or into education,’ she said.

’We will help them to rediscover their own passions and help them get back to who they were before the incident happened to them.’

She said once the charity was fully established and had a premises, it would seek out new volunteers.

’We can do it on our own at the moment, but there’s a lot of people in the island who require help,’ she said.

’It’s not just about helping the victims, it’s also supporting their families who have been affected by one person being assaulted, so we aim to help them too.

’We hope to hold coffee evenings eventually and group chats and help them to help each other and realise that they’re not alone.’

Ms Urquhart said that she and Ms Brereton have both trained in relevant courses, including the accredited Survivors’ Trust’s Independent Sexual Violence Course, which they will complete in June.

Ms Brereton has also worked with the hospice’s children’s ward and Ms Urquhart has also spoken with the police and healthcare professionals to gain more understanding as well as raise more awareness for sexual abuse victims.

She said that it is good news that the Department of Health and Social Care have invested in a Sexual Assault Referral Clinic (SARC), based in a location which cannot be disclosed to protect victims.

’It’s a very good sign that finally [government] is waking up and realising that there’s an issue, and that people don’t have to be flown off-island to get help.’

Anyone who wishes to contact the charity can call Ms Urquhart on 344650, Ms Brereton 343313, or email [email protected]