I would warn raped women to be very wary about using this service.

I reported to the NLRC's helpline that I was raped in a hotel after I had agreed with the male "Receptionist"to pay the hotel fee in the morning when I could get to my bank. I am disabled and use a mobility scooter and I had left what to me is a homeless hostel suddenly in Mental Distress due to a continued pattern of Sexual and Disability Abuse (proven) in the hostel chain and had nowhere to stay that night and no money and ended up in small hotel in Central London. However instead of sticking to the arrangement the male "Receptionist" entered my room against my wishes and raped me. I did not consent. I also passed into unconsciousness due to an Epileptic fit because of the stress.

I am a 63 year old Social Worker, committed Christian and Church goer. Instead of treating me as a rape victim (which I was) I got labelled a prostitute and was referred to a project for primarily crack cocaine addicted street "prostitutes"(the projects terminology for their clients NEVER MINE). This really upset me. While I have immense compassion for such ladies it was an inappropriate referral for me and NLRC's treatment of me has left me even more mentally scared. I will never use them again.

I had been in contact previously with WAR (Women Against Rape) but unfortunately they

do not have a helpline but I would recommend them. They are especially helpful to women who have to live below the radar (for example ladies who have No Recourse to Public Funds etc.) They will respect your confidentiality and are not connected with the Police or the Government etc.

Another good way to find out about things in a wider context would be to watch a film called "I Daniel Blake".

I am now being helped to find more suitable housing by a Disability Rights Organisation run by and for Disabled People who listened with respect and compassion as I described my hostel abuse and hotel rape.

I am sure that NLRC are useful for some people but I would like to warn any other women who find themselves in similar circumstances to me to be very careful. I think they operate according to a certain "Feminist" ideology that I oppose and they do not like women like me who are liberal feminists and as a Social Worker support the autonomy of sex workers.

I think they may also have become confused because I used the helpline this January when they were training new volunteers and I ended up speaking to several different people. I did mention that the hostel chain I live in charges £15.00 for people to stay overnight with resident s to engage in a sexual – or otherwise - relationship with them. This causes local people to think that the hostels are in fact being used as cheap brothels and that the female residents in them are cheap "prostitutes" - their word again. I mentioned this to them and they may have become confused.

I agree with the previous reviewer. Rape Crisis North London lacks approachability, empathy and professionalism. They may have a complaints procedure, but I could not find readily available information on this when I decided to make a complaint. Also, complaining was a waste of time. They failed to review my file comprehensively and made no apology for their lack of sensitivity when they banned me from one of their services about four days after a suicide attempt related to the rape experience. The reason they banned me is because I had begun to swear excessively post-rape. They are intolerant of changes in personality following rape. I have now chosen not to make any further attempts to get help for the trauma resulting from rape due to the shocking lack of genuinely caring services available for rape victims. You're better off writing a trauma journal and purchasing a US produced Trauma Healing Colouring in book, available on Amazon. 

North London Rape Crisis (NLRC) responded:

NLRC has responded to the review left on 07.09.19.
We are very sorry to hear about your experience and want to assure you that we take complaints very seriously. We are concerned to hear about these issues and would recommend contacting us again so we can investigate further complaints@solacewomensaid.org. We have noted your comments about access to the complaints procedure and we are reviewing this internally to ensure it is clearer and easier to access. We will be adding a page about 'making complaints' to our website which is accessible to all service users. Whilst we can’t comment on individual cases we do have a policy, where women who are actively suicidal, that they work with statutory agencies as we are not able to meet the needs of women in acute crisis. We regret that we are unable to provide this intensive support but we welcome women to re-refer at any time once they feel more able to engage in counselling.

I am leaving this review as I want to alert people to the bad experience I had of this service on two occassions. I was raped in 2006 by a health profeasional this was after a number of years of abuse in social care. I did not seek help at the time as I was too traumatised. Eventually,  in 2012, I begun to want to talk about my experiences and went to the Noryh lo don rape crisis centre in the first instance. 

The response I got was shocking. I was 'assessed' by a woman who frankly disbelieved my narrative. she asked me why I hadn"t sought help at the time and why I hadn't reported the incident to the police.  She noted that I had signes of self harm on my arms and  suggested that my mental health was in some way responsible for my experiences. She then refused to refer me on to the next stage and I was asked to leave the building. 

I went back to the centre to ask for help again a few months later,I thought maybe I had just got a bad advisor. Guess what the same thing happened! 

Its now 2018 and I have just begun therapy for my trauma experiences, arranged by my GP.  I want to share this experiencw because I feel rape crisis have a long way to go to fully support all victims sexual assult. 

North London Rape Crisis (NLRC) responded:

NLRC has responded to the review left on 14/01/18. NLRC has stated that they do not comment on individual cases and continue to maintain the confidentiality of all service users who access the service. This is to ensure fair and equal treatment and is delivered in all cases. Additionally, we also have a Complaints Policy and Procedure which service users can access at any point of service delivery.