Young People (13-17 years)
You may be looking at our website because something has happened to you.
Sexual violence is a term that can be used for any unwanted sexual activity, including childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation, sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.
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No matter what or when this happened, Birchall is here to help you. You can contact us yourself - you don't need to talk to your parent or carer first. We support everyone regardless of their sexual and gender identity.
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Contacting Birchall can be really scary - you might worry that you won't be taken seriously. Please know that no matter what happened, we believe you.
How can we help?
​The Birchall Trust offers weekly counselling sessions across South Cumbria and Lancashire to young people who have experienced sexual violence.
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Our counsellors are qualified, experienced and registered with a professional body. They have completed specialist trauma training and understand how sexual violence can impact a young person's life.
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Your family and friends might not know how to best support you or may struggle themselves. That's why we offer a counselling service for loved ones - including parents, carers, or siblings - to help them support you along your counselling journey.
How can sexual violence impact you?
Sexual abuse can have a profound impact on your life. For example, you may be feeling:
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Numb, shut down or living on autopilot.
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Angry, sad or confused - or all of these at once.
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Ashamed and guilty.
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Dirty or damaged.
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Feeling like this is “your fault” or you’re somehow to blame.
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Hopeless- like you can't go on or want to die.
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Afraid or worried you will not be believed - someone may have accused you of lying in the past.
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Scared of certain sounds, smells or situations.
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Tired - you may struggle to sleep or have nightmares.
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Scared - you might be afraid of going out or worry something bad happens if you tell anyone.
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Isolated from everyone - like nobody else could ever understand.
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Hurt - you may be using drugs, alcohol or self harm to cope.
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Like you need to protect someone - this could be someone you love.
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Or maybe how you are feeling is not even listed on here. In any case, you are not alone - when something traumatic happens, it's normal to be impacted by it.
No matter how you are feeling, you could find all this difficult to talk about. Speaking to a trained professional can help you make sense of your experiences.
An app that links young people with local services, self-help resources; including apps, podcasts, blogs and videos and helps you create and plan your own wellbeing and resilience action plan.
Helpful Apps
The Stay Alive app is a suicide prevention resource for the UK, packed full of useful information and tools to help you stay safe in crisis.
Feeling Good Teens is a free app that supports development of emotional regulation, self-esteem, resilience, and goal-focused motivation.
Worried about
self-harm?
Calm Harm is a free app that helps you manage or
resist the urge to self-harm.