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Young victims of crime

Victim Support Wandsworth’s youth service mirrors the service we run for adults but aims to provide a more youth friendly approach. Our Youth worker and volunteers are specially trained to work with young people who have been affected by crime, including bullying.

We recognise that not everyone will want to report a crime to the Police and we will not ask a young person to name an offender or go to the Police if they don’t want to. Our service is not a counselling service, it provides someone to listen to the young person and offer emotional support and practical assistance where necessary. The young person is our client so the service is geared towards the young persons agenda and listens to what they have to say.

We can work with a young person from aged 10 years upwards, however if a young person comes to us under the age of 16 and without permission from their guardian we will need to establish competence. This means that we assess whether the young person has a certain level of intelligence and understanding of what the service offers. If the young person is not deemed competent then they will be advised to either tell their guardian or be referred on.

As part of the Youth service here at VSW we also visit local schools to deliver victim awareness training, helping young people we meet to recognise the effects of crime and come to terms with it if they have previously been affected by crime or are so in the future. It also gives the young person a chance to see victim support as a youth agency that they can approach in the future if they feel the need.

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