May 2024 Edition

Riverlight Newsletter - May 2024

Welcome to the very first Riverlight newsletter! We're excited to share updates on our ongoing work and offer insight into the projects we’re currently working on.


1. Our Campaign: "In the Judges Words"

For far too long, judges and magistrates have been speaking to victims and survivors of abuse in dehumanising ways. Shielded by the veil of Private Law, they often perpetuate demeaning behaviour with impunity behind closed courtroom doors.

Our aim is to expose the reality of how victims and survivors are treated while respecting the confidentiality of those who have bravely shared their experiences with us. We asked victims and survivors to send us some of the most horrific things judges have said to them, and you can read here what they have shared with us: www.riverlight.org.uk/campaign

We've shared two parts of this campaign so far across all of our social media platforms (make sure to check it out), and Part 3 is coming soon!

If you'd like to contribute to this campaign or share your story, we encourage you to reach out via email at haveyoursay@riverlight.org.uk

Your voice matters, and we're here to amplify it.

2. Online Support Groups for Family Court Survivors

Earlier this year, we began hosting online support groups for victims/survivors involved in the family court system. We have had incredible turnout and amazing sessions. Unfortunately, we had to pause these sessions due to unforeseen circumstances.

The good news is that we're working hard to bring these valuable support group sessions back this summer! We'll notify you via email as soon as new dates are available.

3. Supporting Riverlight

We've received many inquiries about how you can support Riverlight. For now, the best way to help us is by sharing our work and spreading the word about our organisation.

We have some exciting projects in the works that will require volunteers. Rest assured that we will reach out once these opportunities become available.

4. Legal Questions and Resources

We often receive many legal questions from survivors and it breaks our hearts reading many of these cases. As much as we really want to help, we're not legally trained and therefore are unable to provide legal advice. Instead, we recommend checking out the Legal section on our website, where you'll find a list of solicitors and barristers recommended by other survivors: www.riverlight.org.uk/legal

Additionally, you can contact Rights of Women, a charity that provides free legal advice through their designated advice lines staffed by solicitors. Their service is excellent and can be found here: https://www.rightsofwomen.org.uk/get-advice/

Advocate is another excellent charity that provides free volunteer barristers to represent you in Court, if you meet their eligibility criteria. Their services can be found here: Advocate: Finding free legal help from barristers (weareadvocate.org.uk)

One of our long-term goals at Riverlight is to provide free legal advice directly to our community. We are working towards making this service available and will keep you updated on our progress.

5. Response times

We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate a high volume of emails with our small team. If you haven’t received a response yet, we apologise, we're doing our best to get back to everyone.

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Thank you for your continued support in the work we do to advocate for victims/survivors of domestic abuse. As we head into the summer months, Riverlight is gearing up for a period of increased activity with several exciting initiatives and projects planned from June onwards. We are enthusiastic about intensifying our efforts and expanding our reach to support more victims and survivors. We will communicate further details about our upcoming activities and how you can get involved in due course via email.

Warmest Regards,

Riverlight Team