About Us
The charity originally called South Cumbria Rape and Abuse Service (SCRAS), was established by Christine Birchall in 1991 as a community response to the lack of support for rape and sexual abuse victims in the local area. It originally operated as an entirely volunteer based organisation supported by community fundraising. The organisation has successfully developed into an established service provider, whilst still retaining its original ethos and local identity.
All of our staff are qualified to the relevant level and counsellors are registered with BACP/BAPT – if required clients can request to view training certificates or accreditation awards to verify competency.
We are a registered charity (number: 1109637), and a company limited by guarantee (number: 5424196)
By supporting Birchall, you can help ensure no one has to deal with rape or sexual abuse alone.
Our Mission
The Birchall Trust empowers people affected by rape, sexual abuse, or
sexualised violence to recover from their trauma so they can lead safe and
fulfilling lives.
We cover issues including childhood abuse, child sexual exploitation, trafficking, sex workers and online abuse
We aim to meet the needs of anyone irrespective of gender identity, sexuality, ethnicity, culture, or religion
Our Vision
At The Birchall Trust, we believe that we should live in a society that is free of rape, sexual abuse, and sexualised violence.
Statement re working with Perpetrators of Sexual Abuse
The Birchall Trust exists to support those who have been victims of rape, sexual abuse and/or sexual violence. While the majority of survivors do not go on to perpetrate violent crimes, sadly a small number do. As a support organisation our place is not to judge, but to treat everyone we encounter with respect and compassion.
If a perpetrator of sexual abuse wishes to access our services we will signpost them instead to organisations such as STOPSO UK (StopSO UK » Tackling Sexual Abuse) Stop It Now (Stop It Now! UK and Ireland | Preventing child sexual abuse) or Victim Support – Turning the Spotlight (Turning the Spotlight – Victim Support)
If a client already in service discloses that, whilst they themselves are a victim of abuse they have also been a perpetrator in some way, we would assess each case individually as to whether it was safe and appropriate to continue with the services we offer. We recognise that each case is not straightforward and there is a much higher prevalence of peer on peer abuse than was previously identified.
