Our Patron – Laura Bates

After collecting 200,000 testimonies of everyday sexism, harassment, discrimination and sexual violence through the Everyday Sexism Project and working closely with survivors for over a decade, I know first hand that the work of SARSAS is nothing short of lifesaving. I know it from the elderly women who have written to me to describe the shame of being blamed for their assaults and the weight of carrying that shame over decades without support or relief. I know it from the schoolgirls who have experienced sexual abuse and have found a lifeline in these services when they had nowhere else to turn. 
 
Over the past nine years of working closely with SARSAS, I have witnessed the skill, commitment and expertise of their brilliant team, and the passion and dedication that goes into their support of survivors. From their pioneering work to spotlight the often invisible older survivors of abuse, to their commitment to provide support to those with complex and intersecting needs, they work tirelessly not just to provide an outstanding level of support to their existing service users, but to lead the sector in expanding best practice and innovative approaches to sexual violence. I am deeply proud to be their patron.