Having a family member or loved one held hostage can be a frightening experience. Hostage UK supports the hostage’s family with pastoral care, practical and strategic help, and financial and legal information. If you need our support, call our 24/7 local rate helpline 0845 608 1360 or email us.

Here are examples of some of the services we offer and how they can help:

Pastoral Care

• Hostage UK helps to put families in touch with other families who have been through a similar experience. Families tell us that this helps them to make sense of what they are going through, understand what to expect, and learn practical coping strategies.
• We have referred families to specialist services, such as our own pro bono psychologists and psychiatrists who can help with the effects of trauma often experienced during and after a kidnap. Often, families forget to look after their own needs as they are focused on the hostage, but it is important to ensure you get the support you need, including for children.

Practical and Strategic Help

• One of the ways we are able to support families is in helping them to make sense of what is happening and how the kidnap might play out. Families are always keen to get as much information as possible to enable them to make informed decisions, as well as take in what is happening. By referring them to our pro bono advisors who have many years experience of handling kidnaps, they are able to get detailed and expert information that puts them back in charge of how the kidnapping is handled. They do not have knowledge of the case in question, but they can bring their experience to bear. We have produced a guide for families on how to cope during a kidnap.
• We regularly offer the families we work with advice about how they should handle the media and public relations during a kidnap. We can also refer them to experts to offer more tailored advice, and have produced a leaflet offering ideas about how to handle the media.

Financial and Legal Advice

• When the main breadwinner is kidnapped, things can be difficult financially. We can help families to understand how to access bank accounts to allow them to continue to function, offer advice on the continuation of payment, and offer experience about a whole range of financial and legal issues. We are not able to offer financial support, but we can help families to access information to be able to deal with these practical challenges.