Escaping Victimhood is a charitable company that was founded by criminal justice professionals concerned that there was little robust support available to victims of crime after the court processes have been completed.

Professionals working in the field of criminal justice or working to support victims of crime know that, for many people, a traumatic event such as the murder of a close relative or a personal attack, can have repercussions far beyond the immediate impact.  Such an event can often become a defining moment in a victim’s life, with consequences impacting on every aspect of day to day living, such as the ability to work, physical and mental health, relationships with family members and so on.  The ongoing consequences of victimhood can create a ripple effect, with one crime affecting many people.

Escaping Victimhood has been set up to help people whose lives have been fragmented by the trauma of serious crime to move from being a victim to being a survivor, and to piece their lives back together again.  To help meet this objective, Escaping Victimhood has designed and piloted a unique programme that provides people with the information, support and ongoing tools for recovery, and works to make this programme available, across the UK, to all who may benefit from it.

To date, Escaping Victimhood has run a number workshops, one for survivors of domestic violence, and the others for families of murder or manslaughter victims.   Feedback from participants has identified that, for many, this has been a life changing experience.  After the first Follow-Up Day participants can set up an e-group and have kept in touch with each other.

Escaping Victimhood is now working towards rolling out its programmes across the UK.

The development and piloting of Escaping Victimhood was supported by charitable trusts with some initial funding from the Office of Criminal Justice Reform.  It is intended that the roll out of the programmes will be funded through a combination of fees for participant places, support from statutory agencies and grants from charitable trusts.

The organisation’s activities are currently being delivered by freelance consultants and facilitators.  The next phase is to set up the first office for the organisation, staffed by the Director and hopefully in time, an Administrator, with workshops continuing to draw on the professional expertise of freelance therapists and facilitators.