survivor featured in Sky News report on the real threat to women’s safety

Watch Sky News’ report featuring Ria, a survivor supported by Rape Crisis South London, about why properly funded specialist support for survivors of violence against women and girls matters.

At the centre of that report was a warning from Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Helen Millichap, the national lead for violence against women and girls, who said the current ‘political discourse’ risks distracting from the “overall threat” to women’s safety. She pointed to a reality specialist services know all too well: in sexual offences and domestic abuse, the vast majority of perpetrators are known to the victim.

The report also featured a survivor supported by Rape Crisis South London, who spoke about the impact of rape and about the support she later received, describing it as a lifeline at a point when she could no longer carry everything alone. A reminder that behind every public debate are real women trying to survive, heal, and be heard.

At Rape Crisis South London, we know how dangerous it is when public conversation becomes detached from the realities of sexual violence. Women and girls do not become safer when fear is redirected into scapegoating, headlines, or political point-scoring. They become safer when there is honest public understanding of how sexual violence actually happens, when survivors can access specialist support without delay, and when the systems around them are equipped to respond properly.