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'I was raped - but offenders need help to rejoin society'
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of Sky News
Posted: August 6th, 2026
https://news.sky.com/story/a-11682404
Rachel was only a teenager when she was raped, and has now lived half of her life as a survivor. Despite being robbed of her virginity, and living in fear of being controlled, she backs a charity that tries to prevent attacks and save victims by forming support networks around those who have offended. The charity is called Circles of Support and Accountability (often shortened to Circles). A charity which aims to prevent sexual re-offending should surely be lauded and supported by all, no? How could anyone take a dim view of a group of people who devote their time to preventing sexual re-offending? Lots of people do, however, take a dim view of Circles' work, and it is because of the first two parts of the sentence above, describing their aim: working with sex offenders to minimise alienation, and support reintegration. The trouble is, very few people want sexual offences to be committed, but very few people want to take any responsibility for helping the people who commit the offences. I fully support the work that Circles does, because I strongly believe that people who are supported, who aren't treated like slugs on a rose, and who are made to face up to the consequences of their actions (remember the accountability part of the charity's name) are much less likely to re-offend on release from prison. It feels like our world is lacking in compassion, empathy and support right now.
Note: Studies show that men with a Circle are 70 to 80% less likely to reoffend than a control group. Explore more positive stories like this on repairing criminal justice and ending human trafficking.
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