The Seafarers’ Charity has announced funding for a new service to support women seafarers who have experienced sexual trauma while working at sea.

Internationally operated charity Salute Her is set to receive funding over a two-year period to deliver its women-centric therapy and trauma counselling to women seafarers and women working in fishing.

The Seafarers’ Charity’s funding will enable Salute Her to expand its therapy services to women working at sea. Women can choose from a range of therapeutic activities – workshops, courses, groups and individual counselling or mental health therapy delivered either face-to-face or virtually.

The funding announcement comes in response to evidence revealed in a recent research report on The Port-Based Welfare Needs of Women Seafarers by Professor Helen Sampson and Dr Iris Acejo at Cardiff University’s Seafarers International Research Centre. The research, funded by The Seafarers’ Charity, revealed female seafarers’ experience of isolation and fear of sexual assault within the male-dominated work environment of a cargo ship.

“The Seafarers’ Charity’s funded research on the welfare needs of women working on cargo ships provided evidence of women’s experiences onboard and their fear for their physical safety,” says Deborah Layde, chief executive at The Seafarers’ Charity and chair of Maritime UK’s Women In Maritime Network.

“Our funding of this new trauma counselling service for seafarers offered by Salute Her is a substantial investment over a two-year period in a new gender-specific welfare service which I believe will help support the recovery of women seafarers who have been affected by sexual violence in their place of work.

“However, our funding of this service is just one part of a bigger picture as we all need to urgently consider what more can be done to protect the safety of women who choose a career at sea.”

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