The Schmooze
‘If we are no longer here to support Jewish survivors of sexual abuse, who will they turn to for help?’
Erica Marks is CEO of JSAS Jewish Sexual Abuse Support, which is being forced to close
October 10, 2025 15:53
1 min read
Erica Marks is CEO of JSAS Jewish Sexual Abuse Support, which is being forced to close
October 10, 2025 15:53Trustees have announced the closure of JSAS Jewish Sexual Abuse Support (Migdal Emunah Ltd) set up in 2013 by a survivor of child sexual abuse, in response to the UK Jewish community not having any support for sexual abuse survivors at that time.
JSAS and Migdal Emunah weathered years of struggling for funding but in recent years had secured funding to expand services from London and Manchester and had the most experienced and skilled sexual violence team in its history. JSAS was supporting around 50 clients each month, most of those recovering from child sexual abuse.
This closure is a direct result of loss of government funding from London, which has affected small, BAME community organisations the most. It was funding for core costs, which has left the charity unviable.
Since I joined in April 2022, it became clear that JSAS could not secure large numbers of community donations without a large donor database or a charity campaign, neither of which we had.
We have the most amazing testimonials from clients, telling us how our support has enabled them to achieve good health at home, in school, at work, and socially. We have seen clients regain good physical and mental health, surrounded by safety, knowing they are believed and supported, when some have never previously had that.
UK figures estimate that around 500,000 children are sexually abused each year in the UK (Gov.uk) so the Jewish community needs to accept that sadly, we are not immune to this.
If one in six children are sexually abused, that means that five children in every primary school class have experienced this. Most of this type of abuse comes from people known to the child – a parent, sibling, family member, friend, or trusted adult. This makes it harder to understand, or to report.
Therapeutic support can last six to 18 months, or even longer for cases decades old, and the risks to the client of halting services before they are complete are very high – the mental health equivalent of removing an appendix but not sewing up the wound after.
Reductions in government funding (even for emergency services like ours) and pressures on charities and donors due to cost of living and increased demand, mean we need to act more collaboratively and strategically, to ensure JSAS services survive.
Ideally, Jewish Sexual Abuse Support needs to be part of an existing Jewish charity, so we can demonstrate best practices to our donors and funders, share resources across multiple organisations, and deliver best value to our community. If we let our vital services close, who will be there to support when we need them?
Erica Marks is the CEO of JSAS Jewish Sexual Abuse Support
Photo: stock image, posed by models (Getty)
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