Tackling sexual harm, building stronger communities
Welcome to Circles South East.
Public protection charity working in the area of sexual harm.
Welcome to Circles South East. We are a Public Protection Charity working in the area of sexual harm.
Founded in 2002, Circles South East was one of the original pilot projects funded by the Ministry of Justice to deliver Circles of Support and Accountability. Using a successful model adopted by Canadian correctional services, Circles were brought to the UK by Quaker Peace and Social Witness, who lobbied the Home Office to invest in a pilot scheme. Following the success of this the development of Circles in the UK has grown with Circles South East developing from the original pilot project. Funding has now been secured from statutory partnership agencies, various charitable trusts, and the reputation of Circles South East enables us to raise funds raised through chargeable services, while research continues to highlight the efficacy of the services.
Circles of Support and Accountability
A Circle is a group of trained volunteers in the community working with a high-risk individual who has a conviction for sexual harm (Core Member). The aim is to reduce isolation and loneliness and thereby increase social inclusion, accountability and community safety for all. Volunteers are trained to monitor the behaviour and risk factors of the Core Member, assisting Police, Probation and other partnership agencies in the management of the individuals’ risk. Our priority is safer communities.
Numerous independent evaluation studies carried out on our work, other Circles projects’ work, and the Canadian programme have proved that Circles of Support and Accountability significantly reduce reconviction rates. This success is largely due to the volunteers (the magic ingredient!) whose extraordinary efforts have been recognised by a number of awards, including the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2010.
Expanding services
Circles South-East launched as a charity in 2008, and since then has grown and developed not only geographically, but also in the number and diversity of services we offer.
These now include:
Training for professionals, volunteers and the community to help them understand more about sexually harmful behaviour, how it affects the individual, their partners and families and how to identify potential risks and safeguard against future harmful behaviour. Through our training we empower and train professionals, volunteers and members of the public to address and manage sometimes difficult and sensitive conversations about sexual harm.
Assessments to help statutory authorities make informed decisions when it comes to an individual accused or convicted of committing sexual harm including whether they can return or have access to their children and families. These offer risk management guidelines and recommendations regarding capacity to protect.
Prevention, Disruption and Diversion Programmes. We work in partnership with police forces to develop and deliver prevention, disruption and diversion programmes. In this way, as the diversion partner, we deliver interventions to people who have been identified as at risk of causing sexual harm.
Intervention Programmes. We have developed a range of intervention programmes including bespoke interventions for any individual or family unit needing support and a programme that helps repair family bonds after an individual has caused sexual harm through their behaviour. -We offer an educative programme to parents/carer aimed at Breaking The Cycle of abuse through education, information and empowerment of those with children in their care. We also offer Restoring The Balance, a programme designed to support families to rebuild relationships disrupted by sexual harm.
Sexually harmful behaviour continues to be an issue in our communities. You can support us by donating your time to volunteer in a Circle, or via our donation page.
Go meet the team
Circles South East
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