A therapeutic social group for women survivors of sexual abuse
Our main purpose is to provide a relaxed environment where woman survivors can socialise and try new activities with people who understand.
Survivors Together was founded in 2008 for the development and protection of good mental and emotional health among female survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and recent sexual violence.
Through therapeutic social groups in a safe space, and bespoke one-to-one support, we facilitate and encourage healing journeys enabling women to move from victim to surviving to thriving.
Our group meetings are held at our base in Plaistow. We have a ‘therapeutic tea and chat’ model, facilitated by our experienced staff, to enable the women to get to know others who understand what they have been through, without the need to talk about their experiences.
The meetings often include a workshop or quiz, or a class such as Mindfulness or arts & craft.
Our support is open-ended and we provide practical support tailored to the individual.
We are run by a long-standing female team that includes survivors, and women who come to us know they will get gender-specific support.
We currently have a waiting list but we are working our way through that and towards making our groups available to help more women.
Frequently asked questions
How many women are at a meeting?
Our Survivors Together meetings have up to 15 women and usually last around 90 minutes.
They are a safe space where our women can form supportive friendships, develop social skills and learn coping skills and strategies, from the facilitators and each other, that will support the improvement of their mental health.
“We may be small, but the impact we have on our survivors is immeasurable.”
Do social therapeutic groups work?
We use regular self-assessment forms and evaluation forms so that the women can tell us about the progress they feel they are making and how well we are supporting them. We also record anonymous case studies and quotes from women who give their consent for us to do so, as well as observations from the team.
What gives us hope is seeing women – often fractured by their experiences – start the journey to becoming whole again.
Is Survivors Together a charity?
Yes, we received official charity status back in 2009 (charity number: 1141487) but more recently transitioned to an Incorporated Charity Organisation (ICO 1201320)
2024 annual report.
We have annual reports since 2008. Please get in touch if you would like to see any previous issues.
What’s the Survivors Together story?
Survivors Together began in 2008. Yvonne, our former Director, now retired, was looking for a survivors social group to join in East London. When she couldn’t find one she felt comfortable enough to join, she started her own.
Do you know The Survivors Trust?
We are a member agency of The Survivors Trust (TST), an umbrella organisation for those providing survivor support services. TST supports and promotes our work, making referrals to us and providing training and organisational resources.
How do I join?
Please fill in our contact form and we will get in touch. As mentioned above, we currently have a waiting list but we are looking at how we can help as many women as possible, or recommend other suitable groups.
Outside of East London
Getting away from it all
When we can, we organise an annual mini-break to Othona in Essex. This is a great break and change of scene that the women love.
Another regular annual treat is a day trip to the seaside. We’ve been to Southend and Leigh-on-Sea and enjoyed fish and chips and a paddle.
We also try to fit in an annual away day, with soothing treatments and mindfulness exercises.
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