Lincolnshire Police on Monday will launch a campaign to highlight National sexual abuse and sexual violence awareness week

The nationwide awareness week runs from February 1 - 7. It is a National campaign and aims to highlight the devastating effects of sexual abuse and violence and raise awareness of how you can get help.

Detective Superintendent Martyn Parker, Head of Protecting Vulnerable People said: "The campaign is a national drive to bring the issue of sexual violence and abuse into the open.

"This is perhaps more important now than ever as lockdown inevitably isolates people and may make it harder for them to access support.

"It may be they are trapped in their home with their abuser. We will reiterate the message that if you are at risk of harm, the restrictions do not apply.

"We want people to know support services are up and running throughout lockdown and your police service is here for you 24/7.

DS Parker continued: "This week we will be asking people to trust us and report their experience so our dedicated and specially trained officers can help.

"We understand not everyone will want to come to us so we will also be highlighting the support offered by our partners which is available whether or not you want to come to us.

"This week is an opportunity to repeat some of our previous campaigning to help educate and inform people. We will be focusing on consent, which should be freely and enthusiastically given rather than assumed, coerced or bullied out of your partner.

"We will warn of the consequences of viewing or distributing indecent images of children and the impact this crime has on the victims. We will also be highlighting the signs of child sexual exploitation and encourage everyone to help us keep our children safe by reporting any concerns."

For more help or information, people are asked to click on the police website's section on sexual assault.

Police also ask people to support them this week by helping us to get these important messages out on social media and to like and share on Facebook.

Follow and retweet on Twitter: @lincspolice using the national campaign hashtag #ItsNotOK