Our message of solidarity to Rape Crisis as it reveals harm of years of 'chronic and acute' under-funding

An estimated 14,000 victims and survivors are waiting for specialist support, Rape Crisis said

Rape Crisis England and Wales says its centres across the country are being forced to cut services because of the twin pressures of decades of 'chronic and acute' under-funding and rising operating costs.

The charity said its 38 centres, which received 41,000 referrals last year, are also reducing staffing levels because of the deteriorating financial climate.

Currently, more than 14,000 victims and survivors are sitting on waiting lists, desperate for the specialist support Rape Crisis offers.

In a report issued this week, it revealed the results of a survey of the people who manage those centres.

They said their work was being hampered by factors including employers' increased National Insurance contributions, cuts to police funding and existing grants being renewed without accounting for inflation.

The government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls, including rape and sexual assault, within a decade.

Carl Martin, direct services manager at the New Futures Project, said: "We are horrified to hear that Rape Crisis centres are being forced to cut services.

"We know from the referrals we receive into our charity that incidents of sexual violence and domestic abuse are increasing and therefore services like Rape Crisis require additional funding not ‘maintenance’ funding or, even worse, reduced funding.

"Misogyny is on the rise. At what point does this crisis become a crisis worthy of national attention and increased funding for services working with victims of rape and abuse?".

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The New Futures Project supports women who have been raped, sexually assaulted or exploited

The key findings of the Rape Crisis survey were:

• 59% of Rape Crisis centre managers and directors are expecting a reduction in their core funding.

• Over three-quarters of them are expecting a reduction or loss of service.

• Over a quarter are losing key staff members as a result of funding uncertainty.

Rape Crisis England and Wales CEO Ciara Bergman said: "Our centres have struggled with chronic and acute underfunding for decades.

"We are now seeing the impact of the most recent real terms pay cuts to centres as a result of National Insurance hikes and lack of corollary increase in grant funding come to fruition.

"The closure of our centres is devastating for the survivors accessing their services, and the communities in which they’re embedded.

"It’s also a loss for the broader fight against male violence and women’s access to support and restitution.

"Additionally, closure means the loss of highly specialist skills and expertise from our workforce, already overburdened and increasingly disillusioned.

"We’ve seen this in recent publications about the mental health of charity CEOs, and the challenges with recruitment and retention across the violence against women and girls’ sector.

"The paradoxical reality is that whilst we recognise rape as being one of the most serious and devastating experiences for survivors, funding for support services is increasingly under threat.

"Rape Crisis centres have been described as life-changing, and in many cases, life-saving for survivors. Their voices must be heard before it is too late."

The New Futures Project offers a comprehensive welfare and counselling service for women and young people dealing with sexual abuse or exploitation, domestic violence, trafficking, poverty and debt, substance use or mental ill-health.

Call us on 0116 251 0803 or send us a message at: info@new-futures.org.uk

You can find us at 71 London Road, Leicester, LE2 0PE.