Latest news with #Safeline
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- The Irish Sun
I was stalked & attacked by a man who didn't fit the ‘profile' – he was good looking with a good job & a girlfriend
Read on to see how Leigh escaped her attacker FIGHT BACK I was stalked & attacked by a man who didn't fit the 'profile' – he was good looking with a good job & a girlfriend WHEN Leigh Collins was woken up to her dogs barking in the middle of the night, she assumed it was her ex-boyfriend messing around. It was 3am and as Leigh sat down on the couch to calm her dogs, she noticed a dark figure lurking in the hallway. Advertisement 3 Leigh Collins woke up at night to find a random man in her house, weilding her kitchen knife Credit: from now on podcast/youtube 3 Rashad Devon Harris, broke into Leigh's apartment, police suspect he stalked her for years Credit: Santa Monica police "I saw a silhouetted figure just kind of peek in and then peek out," she explains. "Which is a nightmare, then it was like my brain started convincing myself that it was my ex-boyfriend. "He had a key, we had gotten into a fight that day and so I was talking myself out of it being what it was." Trying to convince herself the situation wasn't as bad as it seemed, she decided to look around each room in the apartment. Advertisement Leigh checked the hallway, the front room, and dining room and found nothing. But as she walked to the kitchen, she found a man pressed against the wall holding one of her kitchen knives. Speaking on the From Now On podcast, Leigh said an inner voice took over telling her what to do. She stood and stared at the attacker, making sure to get every detail of what he looked like before she made a run for her escape. Advertisement But he soon caught up with her in the living room and held her against the wall with a knife asking for money. Leigh recalled how he was acting tense, and asked if she had a boyfriend coming back, she lied and said yes. The attacker quickly called her bluff and relaxed, knowing no one was going to disturb him. He walked Leigh over to her bedroom, somewhere she knew she didn't want to be with him, so she told him cash was in the guest bedroom. Advertisement 3 Now, Leigh shares the warning signs to look out for Credit: from now on podcast/youtube Sexual abuse in numbers 669,000 adults are sexually assaulted in England and Wales every year 1 in 5 women (8m) in the UK have been sexually abused 1 in 6 men (5m) in the UK have been sexually abused 1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused Sexual abuse has been attributed to: 15% of all suicides in the UK 11% of all common mental health disorders in the UK 7% of alcohol dependence disorders 10% of drug dependence disorders 15% of eating disorders 17% of post-traumatic stress disorders (Source: Safeline) Once she handed the money over, he asked what else she had to offer, and she realised he wasn't there for a robbery. He soon took her to the bedroom again and began to sexually assault her, Leigh says her life and her future played like a film in her mind. She added: "You know people say when you're in a near-death experience that you'll have a flash of your life, mine was a flash to my future. Advertisement "I think it was my brain's way to show me I had something to fight for." The intruder then climbed onto the bed with Leigh and she could tell he was enjoying her fear, as he moved closer, he took the knife off her throat and she saw it as her opportunity to fight back. FIGHTING BACK First she screamed for help, before he straddled her and began beating her and trying to stab her. Leigh hit back, and she was able to get her legs from underneath him and kick him off the bed. Advertisement She soon noticed some of her fingers were almost cut off from her hand and her energy soon shifted to rage as she saw the damage he had done. Screaming, she beat him and told him she would kill him unless he got out the house. I wanted to share some qualities about him that I found surprising and also say, always trust your intuition. Leigh Collins While he initially fought back, he soon got up and fled and Leigh was able to call the police for help. Three days later, Rashad Devon Harris, was arrested, and police discovered he had been stalking Leigh for years. Advertisement Last year, Rashad was sentenced to life in prison and Leigh, who has made a full recovery from her injuries, advocates for victims on social media. HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT In a recent clip, she warned women to be careful and to trust their gut instinct, claiming her intruder didn't follow the usual stereotypes of this type of criminal activity. She said: "I wanted to share some qualities about him that I found surprising and also say, always trust your intuition. I don't remember meeting the man who stalked me, but I know I must have." Leigh first said that unlike most people who commit sexually motivated crimes, he was good-looking, had a girlfriend, a good job and even a support network of family and friends. Advertisement "He was hiding in plain sight," she added. "These guys can compartmentalize and they're incredibly manipulative." Leigh went on to say that you should always pay attention to your intuition, rather than what the typical archetype is for dangerous people. "I could feel the emptiness from him. And it scared me. Not just from the way he behaved, not just from his eyes or the way he looked," she explained. "The feeling of him was that there was a shell and inside there was nothing. if you get a feeling like that from someone, that chill up and down your spine, pay attention to that. Advertisement "More than paying attention to what the typical archetype of someone like this is."
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Scottish Sun
I was stalked & attacked by a man who didn't fit the ‘profile' – he was good looking with a good job & a girlfriend
Read on to see how Leigh escaped her attacker FIGHT BACK I was stalked & attacked by a man who didn't fit the 'profile' – he was good looking with a good job & a girlfriend Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WHEN Leigh Collins was woken up to her dogs barking in the middle of the night, she assumed it was her ex-boyfriend messing around. It was 3am and as Leigh sat down on the couch to calm her dogs, she noticed a dark figure lurking in the hallway. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Leigh Collins woke up at night to find a random man in her house, weilding her kitchen knife Credit: from now on podcast/youtube 3 Rashad Devon Harris, broke into Leigh's apartment, police suspect he stalked her for years Credit: Santa Monica police "I saw a silhouetted figure just kind of peek in and then peek out," she explains. "Which is a nightmare, then it was like my brain started convincing myself that it was my ex-boyfriend. "He had a key, we had gotten into a fight that day and so I was talking myself out of it being what it was." Trying to convince herself the situation wasn't as bad as it seemed, she decided to look around each room in the apartment. Leigh checked the hallway, the front room, and dining room and found nothing. But as she walked to the kitchen, she found a man pressed against the wall holding one of her kitchen knives. Speaking on the From Now On podcast, Leigh said an inner voice took over telling her what to do. She stood and stared at the attacker, making sure to get every detail of what he looked like before she made a run for her escape. But he soon caught up with her in the living room and held her against the wall with a knife asking for money. Leigh recalled how he was acting tense, and asked if she had a boyfriend coming back, she lied and said yes. The attacker quickly called her bluff and relaxed, knowing no one was going to disturb him. He walked Leigh over to her bedroom, somewhere she knew she didn't want to be with him, so she told him cash was in the guest bedroom. 3 Now, Leigh shares the warning signs to look out for Credit: from now on podcast/youtube Sexual abuse in numbers 669,000 adults are sexually assaulted in England and Wales every year 1 in 5 women (8m) in the UK have been sexually abused 1 in 6 men (5m) in the UK have been sexually abused 1 in 20 children in the UK have been sexually abused Sexual abuse has been attributed to: 15% of all suicides in the UK 11% of all common mental health disorders in the UK 7% of alcohol dependence disorders 10% of drug dependence disorders 15% of eating disorders 17% of post-traumatic stress disorders (Source: Safeline) Once she handed the money over, he asked what else she had to offer, and she realised he wasn't there for a robbery. He soon took her to the bedroom again and began to sexually assault her, Leigh says her life and her future played like a film in her mind. She added: "You know people say when you're in a near-death experience that you'll have a flash of your life, mine was a flash to my future. "I think it was my brain's way to show me I had something to fight for." The intruder then climbed onto the bed with Leigh and she could tell he was enjoying her fear, as he moved closer, he took the knife off her throat and she saw it as her opportunity to fight back. FIGHTING BACK First she screamed for help, before he straddled her and began beating her and trying to stab her. Leigh hit back, and she was able to get her legs from underneath him and kick him off the bed. She soon noticed some of her fingers were almost cut off from her hand and her energy soon shifted to rage as she saw the damage he had done. Screaming, she beat him and told him she would kill him unless he got out the house. I wanted to share some qualities about him that I found surprising and also say, always trust your intuition. Leigh Collins While he initially fought back, he soon got up and fled and Leigh was able to call the police for help. Three days later, Rashad Devon Harris, was arrested, and police discovered he had been stalking Leigh for years. Last year, Rashad was sentenced to life in prison and Leigh, who has made a full recovery from her injuries, advocates for victims on social media. HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT In a recent clip, she warned women to be careful and to trust their gut instinct, claiming her intruder didn't follow the usual stereotypes of this type of criminal activity. She said: "I wanted to share some qualities about him that I found surprising and also say, always trust your intuition. I don't remember meeting the man who stalked me, but I know I must have." Leigh first said that unlike most people who commit sexually motivated crimes, he was good-looking, had a girlfriend, a good job and even a support network of family and friends. "He was hiding in plain sight," she added. "These guys can compartmentalize and they're incredibly manipulative." Leigh went on to say that you should always pay attention to your intuition, rather than what the typical archetype is for dangerous people. "I could feel the emptiness from him. And it scared me. Not just from the way he behaved, not just from his eyes or the way he looked," she explained. "The feeling of him was that there was a shell and inside there was nothing. if you get a feeling like that from someone, that chill up and down your spine, pay attention to that. "More than paying attention to what the typical archetype of someone like this is."
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Dedicated male abuse survivors line faces closure
The only support service in the country for male sexual abuse victims could be forced to close. The National Male Survivor Helpline (NMSH) is funded entirely by the government but the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is to end the £250,000-a-year it has received since 2016. Service users have said the NMSH, which is operated by Safeline, has been a "lifeline" for many victims of abuse. The MoJ said its Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line (RSASL) was available to offer free, confidential help to all survivors aged 16 and over. A person who used the service from the North West told the BBC they feared male victims would be less likely to use RSASL because all the phonelines were staffed by women only. "I was abused by a female, the last person I want to speak to about that experience is a woman," he said. "It is very important that the user can choose the gender of the person they speak to." The client said he was abused between the ages of eight and 18 and suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result. "PTSD is cumulative, so every time something happens I get triggered, it gets worse," he said. "I would see someone the same build as the person who abused me and it would trigger me, it got to the point where I was hardly leaving the house." He said he spent many years trying to get help before he found Safeline's NMSH. "I tried everything, I self-referred through the NHS and it was a 48-week wait," he said. "I was given cognitive behavioural therapy and sent to group sessions, but this isn't something you can talk about in a group of strangers." He said he came across NMSH while researching treatment options and was amazed how quickly it was able to help. He said "within a matter of weeks" he had been referred for therapy and went on to receive frequent counselling sessions. "It was just totally different, they completely understood. I wasn't expecting much given my history with other services, and it didn't cost me a penny. "£250,000 is nothing when you consider what they are doing for people. I'm amazed they managed to help me so much on a tiny budget." In the last year, the helpline has supported 2,000 men across England and Wales. Sixteen per cent of those were based in the North West, the second highest volume of users after London (18%). Liz Harrison, Head of National Helpline and Online Services at Safeline, says there will be "tragic consequences" if the NMSH is forced to close. "Male survivors will go unsupported and lives will be lost," she said. Ms Harrison said the cuts came after the helpline saw an increase in young men and boys coming forward. "If you can encourage survivors to seek support as soon as they can it helps to reduce the long term impacts of abuse," she said. The MoJ said its gender-neutral 24/7 rape crisis line was a suitable alternative to Safeline. Ms Harrison echoed survivors' concerns about it being staffed only by women. "The way men and women talk about the abuse they've experienced is completely different," she said. "Women don't tend to talk about the actual abuse itself whereas men will talk very matter-of-factly about it, which means they can be quite graphic. "This can lead to them being turned away from the service or even banned." John, not his real name, is based in Greater Manchester and has worked for the service for nine years. He said he did not know what to expect when his team was called into a meeting in the middle of December, but that the service being closed was "the worst possible" outcome. "I went through different phases or being sad, angry, confused that something like this could be taken away," he said. "I'm surprised by how much I consider it to be part of my identity, it's never felt like a job to me. "The idea that we spent eight years developing the service to this point for it to be taken away so swiftly just doesn't feel right. We've worked so hard to get it to this point." John said he was worried the knowledge the team had built over the last nine years would be lost if the service was forced to close. "We built the service up from scratch so everyone is so knowledgeable about male survivors," he said. "There is nowhere for us to take that knowledge, the government service won't employ men so we can't even share it with them. "It just feels like we are being forced to take steps back when we feel like we can and should be moving forward. "The helplessness of having a service taken out of our hands when we know there is a valid reason we are doing it. It just feels wrong." The client said he was worried for people who would not be able to access the help he had if the service closed. "If people can't get help to deal with it they just put it in box in their mind where it just sits and rots. Then they spend the rest of their lives wondering why they feel the way they do, why they need to drink so much or why they take drugs," he said. "This is a situation that affects possibly millions of men, there are so many people suffering. "Imagine how many males are going through the same as me who now won't be able to get the help I was given." The MoJ said it "recognises the vital role that organisations like Safeline play in supporting victims of sexual abuse". "This government inherited a criminal justice system under immense pressure and must make difficult decisions to ensure we can deliver the justice victims deserve," an MoJ spokesperson said. But the client said men "get so few opportunities for help", he could not understand why the government would take the service away. "Safeline is my lifeline," he said. "It just makes you think, society still doesn't care about men who have been abused. "Without the specialist help and support I have had from the helpline over the past three years and just knowing they were there for me at the end of the phone, I might not have survived." If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line. Read more stories from Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X. National Male Survivor Helpline Ministry of Justice
BBC News
10-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Dedicated male abuse survivors line faces closure
The only support service in the country for male sexual abuse victims could be forced to National Male Survivor Helpline (NMSH) is funded entirely by the government but the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is to end the £250,000-a-year it has received since 2016. Service users have said the NMSH, which is operated by Safeline, has been a "lifeline" for many victims of abuse. The MoJ said its Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line (RSASL) was available to offer free, confidential help to all survivors aged 16 and over. 'They completely understood' A person who used the service from the North West told the BBC they feared male victims would be less likely to use RSASL because all the phonelines were staffed by women only. "I was abused by a female, the last person I want to speak to about that experience is a woman," he said."It is very important that the user can choose the gender of the person they speak to."The client said he was abused between the ages of eight and 18 and suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result."PTSD is cumulative, so every time something happens I get triggered, it gets worse," he said."I would see someone the same build as the person who abused me and it would trigger me, it got to the point where I was hardly leaving the house."He said he spent many years trying to get help before he found Safeline's NMSH."I tried everything, I self-referred through the NHS and it was a 48-week wait," he said."I was given cognitive behavioural therapy and sent to group sessions, but this isn't something you can talk about in a group of strangers."He said he came across NMSH while researching treatment options and was amazed how quickly it was able to said "within a matter of weeks" he had been referred for therapy and went on to receive frequent counselling sessions."It was just totally different, they completely understood. I wasn't expecting much given my history with other services, and it didn't cost me a penny."£250,000 is nothing when you consider what they are doing for people. I'm amazed they managed to help me so much on a tiny budget." In the last year, the helpline has supported 2,000 men across England and Wales. Sixteen per cent of those were based in the North West, the second highest volume of users after London (18%).Liz Harrison, Head of National Helpline and Online Services at Safeline, says there will be "tragic consequences" if the NMSH is forced to close."Male survivors will go unsupported and lives will be lost," she Harrison said the cuts came after the helpline saw an increase in young men and boys coming forward."If you can encourage survivors to seek support as soon as they can it helps to reduce the long term impacts of abuse," she MoJ said its gender-neutral 24/7 rape crisis line was a suitable alternative to Harrison echoed survivors' concerns about it being staffed only by women. "The way men and women talk about the abuse they've experienced is completely different," she said."Women don't tend to talk about the actual abuse itself whereas men will talk very matter-of-factly about it, which means they can be quite graphic."This can lead to them being turned away from the service or even banned." 'Just feels wrong' John, not his real name, is based in Greater Manchester and has worked for the service for nine said he did not know what to expect when his team was called into a meeting in the middle of December, but that the service being closed was "the worst possible" outcome."I went through different phases or being sad, angry, confused that something like this could be taken away," he said."I'm surprised by how much I consider it to be part of my identity, it's never felt like a job to me."The idea that we spent eight years developing the service to this point for it to be taken away so swiftly just doesn't feel right. We've worked so hard to get it to this point."John said he was worried the knowledge the team had built over the last nine years would be lost if the service was forced to close."We built the service up from scratch so everyone is so knowledgeable about male survivors," he said."There is nowhere for us to take that knowledge, the government service won't employ men so we can't even share it with them."It just feels like we are being forced to take steps back when we feel like we can and should be moving forward. "The helplessness of having a service taken out of our hands when we know there is a valid reason we are doing it. It just feels wrong." 'So many suffering' The client said he was worried for people who would not be able to access the help he had if the service closed."If people can't get help to deal with it they just put it in box in their mind where it just sits and rots. Then they spend the rest of their lives wondering why they feel the way they do, why they need to drink so much or why they take drugs," he said."This is a situation that affects possibly millions of men, there are so many people suffering."Imagine how many males are going through the same as me who now won't be able to get the help I was given."The MoJ said it "recognises the vital role that organisations like Safeline play in supporting victims of sexual abuse"."This government inherited a criminal justice system under immense pressure and must make difficult decisions to ensure we can deliver the justice victims deserve," an MoJ spokesperson the client said men "get so few opportunities for help", he could not understand why the government would take the service away. "Safeline is my lifeline," he said."It just makes you think, society still doesn't care about men who have been abused."Without the specialist help and support I have had from the helpline over the past three years and just knowing they were there for me at the end of the phone, I might not have survived." If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line. Read more stories from Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X.
