About Victim Support#
Victim Support was founded in 1974 and is independent of the police. It supports people affected by any crime or traumatic incident in England and Wales, along with their friends and family, and it does not matter whether the crime was reported or how long ago it happened. Most of its help comes from local teams, mainly funded by police and crime commissioners, alongside national services such as the National Homicide Service.
Since 1 April 2026 it has also run the Witness Service in every criminal court in England and Wales, taking over from Citizens Advice. The service helps witnesses for the prosecution and the defence before, during and after a trial.
Ways to get in touch#
Its Get help page lists every route. The Supportline is free and open around the clock, every day, and you can call without giving your name; live chat runs at all hours too, including in Welsh. BSL users can call through Convo, and interpreters are available. The online request form passes you to your local team, who aim to reply within three working days, and it says the name you give it does not have to be your real one. My Support Space offers free self-help guides.
Every page has a Leave website button, and the charity publishes a guide to covering your tracks online. One limit to check: in a few areas, such as Thames Valley, local victim services are run by another organisation, and the area finder says so.
Moving, safety plans and staying off the register#
Victim Support publishes nothing about changing a name. The pages nearest to it:
- Safety planning. Its How we can help page says staff can help you put a safety plan together.
- Housing. Its housing issues page accepts that moving may sometimes be the only answer, suggests asking the council's housing department about security or rehousing, and says staff can help you deal with housing agencies and find legal advice.
- The electoral register. Its useful links point to Refuge's short guide to registering to vote anonymously.
- Identity fraud. Its fraud page covers someone else using your name to open accounts or take out loans, which matters here because a new name does nothing about accounts already opened in the old one.
If you move and change your name#
People who move for their safety sometimes change their name at the same time, but the two are separate. A deed poll records the address you lived at when you signed it, and the deed stays valid after you move; moving after a deed poll explains why there is nothing to redo. Re-registering to vote in a new name at a new address is a moment to choose anonymous registration if you qualify; GOV.UK's form asks for a court order protecting you or an attestation from someone such as a senior police officer, and the electoral register guide has the rest. If you are giving evidence in a trial, ask the Witness Service how a new name affects your arrangements before you sign.
For victims in Scotland, see Victim Support Scotland; for Northern Ireland, Victim Support NI.
This page describes what Victim Support publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026. Victim Support has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
