Research informs us that there is a disparity between the health of men and women in the UK. Men are not accessing GP Surgeries, healthcare services and mental health provisions as much as women are, and its certainly not that men are any healthier then their female counterparts!

Like many others, we believe that the pressure society puts on men to behave and act in a certain way, to suppress emotions and not show their true feelings, and to keep that 'stiff upper lip' all goes someway to explain this disparity. It simply perpetuates the verbal silence and often silent suffering of men - especially as victims of sexual abuse and rape.

Survivors Manchester was established in order to support male survivors of sexual abuse and rape in Manchester, regardless of when or where the abuse took place. In this section, we would like to detail the different types of support available and how you can access our services.
 

In order for you to be able to engage with us in a way that you feel most comfortable and safe with, not only do we have this site but we can also be found on social networking sites Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.

Click on a logo below to open the relevant site of your choice a new window.

	Joining our facebook site can be really useful in connecting with others from the safety of your own home and see your not alone. We have set permissions so only people who have been accepted as 'friends' can view our page and only members can view other members' pages.
	Our myspace page means there is another way to feel less isolated, to remind you your on your own and connect. Experience is unique to each and every one of us, but don't forget that we often also share the legacy of abuse. Don't isolate... break the silence and know you're not alone.
	We're now on twitter so you can see what we thinking, follow what we're doing, and generally get to know us. Getting to know us a bit more will help you build up your confidence and allow us to gain your trust so that when the time comes that you feel you want to engage and connect, you can do it a lot more easier.

Staying safe is important, especially online. Maybe you don't want anyone to know your looking at this site at the moment. So in order to help you cover your tracks, we have provided you with some useful information. Click here to open this information in a new window.

Sometimes just writing down how you feel can be a huge step towards healing. Showing someone else what you've written is an even bigger step, its speaking out. However, we can feel like we don't know who to turn to or maybe we will be judged if people hear what's really going on for us.

To give you the ability to have someone listen to you without fear of judgement, we have set up an Email Support Service so you can: contact us, get some advice, as a question, read your words, and maybe begin a discussion. If you don't want us to reply then just say. Remember, you are in control of this contact and we will respond in whatever way you want us to.

Email us at: esupport@survivorsmanchester.org.uk

We make a solid commitment to answer all emails within 24 hours of being in receipt.

Meeting and speaking with other survivors can be one of the most empowering moments in the healing journey, but it can also be extremely scary. Some people prefer to talk online first before speaking on the telephone or meeting face to face, that way they can ease themselves into a situation they may view as unsafe.

The way the Virtual 1:1 Chat works is that initial contact is made through email to arrange a time that is convenient for both of us, we would then provide you with our details so you can add us to your contacts, ready for our session. Each session lasts up to an hour and you are in control of the conversation to talk in your own time, ask questions, reflect on your thoughts, etc. The session facilitator is a qualified counsellor (although please be aware that this is not online counselling service) and survivor himself.

If you want use the virtual 1:1 chat service or find out more information please contact us via email at tvsr@survivorsmanchester.org.uk.

The Telephone Support service is a way for you to talk directly to us on the phone and hear another survivor's voice. Speaking directly to someone for the first time can be one of the most key moments in the healing process.

You can speak to us by calling: 07919 246 267

The Telephone Support Line is open Mon 7pm - 9pm & Thu 12pm - 5pm. At all other times, there is a confidential answering machine service where you can leave a message and we will endeavour to call you back within 24 hours.

There may also be opportunities to pre-arrange a telephone conversation outside the advertised times. If you would like to try and arrange a mutually convenient time, then please feel free to contact us at support@survivorsmanchester.org.uk.

As well as direct support to survivors, we also want to be able to support professionals already working with male victims/survivors. Therefore we are offering a professional co-working support service where we can come along to your service, appointment with your client or talk to you on the phone about male abuse and look at how we can support you and him. Email us at support@survivorsmanchester.org.uk with details of your service and how we can contact you, both by email and telephone.

Survivors Manchester is in the early stages of establishing itself, publicising our services, meeting with both voluntary organisations and statuary services already working in the community and searching for funding and potential funders that will allow us to cement and develop the organisation. But rest assured, we have a dedicated board of trustees that are 100% committed to ensuring Survivors Manchester begins as it means to go on... solid, strong, and honest.

With this in mind, we are unable to offer all of the services that we are planning and want to offer at this present moment. However, we have been realistic about the support we can offer as listed above and invite you to use Survivors Manchester as little or as often as you like.

Once we have secured funding we can offer more frequent support and develop and implement a few more services. So you can see what we are planning and get a more complete picture of Survivors Manchester, we have listed a few of our future plans below:

ADVOCACY SUPPORT
Supporting guys that need to access another specific support service but don't know how to do it. Whether they want to talk to a doctor, mental health practitioner, drugs worker, lawyer, police about what happened, look at the legal process of making a complaint, Whatever it is then the advocacy support service would do this.

PEER/EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Meeting with someone who has "been there" or at least has some understanding of what your going through can be such a relief, even inspiring! It means that you obtain actual evidence to prove to yourself that you are no longer alone. Peer Support is used in a wide range of services, organisations and charities. It's not counselling, its not therapy but it can be extremely therapeutic.

PRISON INREACH

Working within prisons and YOI's, a Survivors Manchester support worker will be available for male prisoners to talk to someone who has knowledge and experience of survivor issues. As with all Survivors Manchester services, we are unable to work with anyone with a sexual offending history.

THE SAFE ROOM

A weekly support group meeting for male survivors of sexual abuse and rape, facilitated by a qualified counsellor and survivor. If you would be interested in joining the support group, please let us know by registering your interest at thesaferoom@survivorsmanchester.org.uk
 

THE SAFE ROOM FOR FEMALE PARTNERS

A monthly support group meeting for female partners of male survivors of sexual abuse and rape, co-facilitated by a qualified male counsellor/survivor and a female partner.

THE SAFE ROOM FOR MALE PARTNERS

A monthly support group meeting for male partners of male survivors of sexual abuse and rape, co-facilitated by a qualified male counsellor/survivor and a male partner.