THE figures are quite shocking, as we outline on page nine today.
Around 85,000 women are raped in England and Wales every year.
And more than 400,000 are victims of sexual assault.
One in five women aged between 16 and 59 have experienced some form of sexual violence.
A new support service was launched yesterday, which the founders say is all part of the healing process.
Given the scale of the issue, the fact that the initiative is needed at all may be considered something of an indictment of the current system.
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