Latest from Jocelyn Anderson, CEO, West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC).
Last night, watching the local news, a feature on SARAC (a sexual violence and abuse support Charity in Staffordshire) popped up. The CEO spoke about how a lack of funding was threatening the survival of their centre and how referrals had increased and that they cannot keep up with demand. A courageous survivor Andy Watts, spoke about how the centre helped him recover and find his voice after he had suffered years of abuse as a child.
It made me angry, frustrated and deeply disappointed.
You see, this week it is SARAC, a couple of months ago, it was Coventry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre (CRASAC) who had had their funding from the Council cut. In June Suffolk Rape Crisis announced that they would be closing because of lack of sustainable funding. Last year it was us – West Mercia Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre. Much of our core funding comes from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the form of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund – last year, our funding was cut by 47% from the MoJ – no reasoning, no appeal process and no challenges accepted.
In 2021, we had to close our counselling waiting lists because we simply could not meet demand and survivors (including children) were having to wait for over two years for counselling support. As at March 2024 we had over 600 survivors waiting for support – it isn’t supposed to be this way. Survivors and the specialist sexual violence sector deserve better funding.
So, on the day when Maggie Blyth (National Police Chief’s Council) announces that violence against women & girls (VAWG) is a national emergency – perhaps give some thought to a whole system approach – support those that support the survivors. Hopefully this government will step up and provide long term, sustainable funding for the sexual violence sector to ensure that survivors get the support they need, when they need it.
If you would like to support WMRSASC, You can click here to find out about the various ways you can donate or fundraise for us.