Willow Trees – The West Midlands Regional Children and Young People Sexual Assault Service
Willow Tree Children and Young People’s Sexual Assault Service (CYPSAS) provides care and support to anyone up to the age of 18 who have been raped or sexually assaulted, as well as those with complex needs up to the age of 25 if they are unable to access the adult service.
You can report what happened to the police or contact us directly on 0808 196 2340
If you are from the police or social care and are looking to make a referral, please visit our professionals page. Professionals – West Mids CYPSAS (westmidsregionalcypsas.co.uk
Young people under 18 years old (or under 25 if they have complex needs) visit our service for care and support when something has happened sexually without their consent. We are here to listen and want to help make sure that all children and young people who visit the centre are healthy and safe. We can help 24-hours a day, 7 days week, and are open every day of the year.
Before coming to our centre, you will need an appointment. If a young person is aged 13 years or older, they can make an appointment to come to the centre without a parent or carer present if the centre staff feel they are competent to make decisions about their own care.
Children aged 13 years and younger can only access the centre if they have a referral from the police or a social care worker. They can make an appointment for you and bring you and your child to and from the centre.
Please call us on 0808 196 2340 if you have any questions about how we can help you or someone you know that has experienced sexual assault. We are here to help, 24/7.
What to do if you are a young person who is looking to visit our centre:
- If you are under the age of 13, you should speak to a trusted adult who can contact the police or a social care professional for you. We will speak with them to organise your appointment for as soon as possible.
- If you are 13 or older, you can contact us directly on 0808 196 2340 or you can contact the police or a care worker and they will book an appointment for you. These professionals can usually bring young people and parents or carers to and from an appointment
Helping a child or young person to access our service:
If you are concerned about a child or young person and would like to arrange for them to visit our SARC, please take a look at the below details.
When is this the right service for a child or young person?
- Disclosure or suspected disclosure of sexual abuse/assault
- There are reasons to suspect child sexual abuse has occured
- Over sexualised/harmful sexual behaviour
- Genital health when there are concerns about sexual abuse
- The person is aged 18-25 and has complex needs.
What you should do if you think a child or young person needs to attend a SARC:
- If the child is under 13, please contact the police and children’s social care.
- If the young person is 13 or older, you can still contact the police or social care, but the young person can also make an appointment to come to the centre by calling us.
If this is the right service for the child or young person you are concerned about, you can contact us 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0808 196 2340.
All cases will involve a strategy meeting, facilitated by our Safeguarding and Strategy Manager. It is our policy to ensure anyone under the age of 18 has a safeguarding referral.
