Research has highlighted the serious impact that violence has on child victims and the need to ensure adequate psychosocial support interventions to reduce this impact as well as prevent future offending by the victim. Since the impact of trauma in cases of sexual violence is complex and pervasive, victims are in need of support services that include:

• crisis intervention and trauma debriefing;
• legal advice, court support and advocacy;
• court preparation;
• counselling; and
• therapy.

These support services need to be holistic and must be able to be adapted to suit the needs of individual victims at different stages of their journeys of recovery.