Our four Associate Member organisations Galop, Rise, Sex Worker Open University and Survivors' Network are a key part of our research and impact strategy.

Galop is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) anti-violence & abuse charity. It provides advice, support and advocacy to people who have experienced homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexual violence or domestic abuse. It also supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people who have had problems with the police or who have questions about the criminal justice system. Galop also produces research and campaigns on issues of LGBT safety and access to services. It has been working on behalf of LGBT communities since 1982. Find out more about Galop’s work at http://www.galop.org.uk/.

Rise started as the Brighton Women’s Refuge Project in 1994, and helps people affected by domestic abuse. It offers practical solutions, sanctuary and support in Brighton, Hove and Sussex. It has a helpline and a domestic abuse drop-in surgery, therapeutic and counseling services, and crisis accommodation. Rise also works in schools teaching children about healthy relationships, and offers training and consultancy on domestic abuse. Each year Rise supports around 1800 women and their families, and it also has a specialist LGBTQI service for survivors of domestic abuse which was the first in England. To find out more about Rise and its work, visit http://www.riseuk.org.uk/.

The Sex Worker Open University (SWOU) is a sex worker-led collective of sex workers and allies which aims to support and empower sex workers through activities such as workshops, debates, political actions and art, as well as fighting against the criminalization of sex work (this includes the ‘Swedish Model’ of criminalizing clients). It runs a confidential phone support service for current and former sex workers, breakfast drop-in sessions for current sex workers and public education workshops which aim to challenge stigma against sex workers and to raise awareness of the harms of criminalization. SWOU has branches in London and Glasgow. Find out more about SWOU at http://www.sexworkeropenuniversity.com/.

Survivors’ Network is the Rape Crisis centre for Sussex, offering a range of services to survivors of any gender who have experienced any form of sexual violence. It has a helpline and drop-in, one-to-one counseling, work targeted at young people and an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) service to help those reporting to the police. It also delivers training to a range of external organisations on a variety of topics related to sexual violence. The organization also has a developing specialist expertise in issues faced by and access to support for black and minority ethnic (BME) and LGBT survivors. Read more about Survivors’ Network and its services at http://www.survivorsnetwork.org.uk/.