1,000 signatures reached
To: All UK political parties
Save Rape Crisis centres from a funding crisis
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Every year, thousands of survivors of rape and sexual abuse seek support from Rape Crisis centres in England and Wales. However, decades of underfunding and an impending funding cliff edge means that next year, many of these centres face the risk of closure.
Our ask is simple: we want all UK political parties to commit to adequate, long-term, sustainable funding for specialist Rape Crisis centres, so survivors can continue to access these life-changing and life-saving services.
Why is this important?
The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund is the only ring-fenced government funding for sexual violence and abuse services, and a core part of the funding for Rape Crisis centres.
However, there has been no official commitment from any political party to extend the Fund beyond March 2025 – putting the future of many centres at risk.
The threat is all too real. Only this May, a Rape Crisis centre was forced to close its doors, due to the insecurity of its funding. Unless politicians act now, other centres will follow.
Tackling sexual violence and abuse must be a priority for any new government.
In England and Wales:
Tackling sexual violence and abuse must be a priority for any new government.
In England and Wales:
- 6.5 million women have been raped or sexually assaulted since the age of 16.
- An estimated 1 in 6 children experience sexual abuse.
- Women who have been sexually abused by a partner are seven times more likely to have attempted suicide in the past year than those who were not.
Any party that is serious about ending sexual violence and abuse and supporting survivors must therefore, at a minimum, pledge in its manifesto to recommission the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund from March 2025.
Only in this way will Rape Crisis centres have the security they need to keep providing the specialist, trauma-informed support that survivors in England & Wales both need and deserve.
"(My counsellor) helped me so, so much. What I went through was eating me away for years and was affecting my life every day. (My counsellor) helped me get out of this, I have never had a better experience with any time of counselling" - Survivor who accessed counselling through a Rape Crisis centre.
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Note: this petition was launched by Rape Crisis England & Wales (RCEW), a charity working to end sexual violence and abuse (SVA). We are the national membership organisation for a network of 39 independent Rape Crisis centres that support SVA victim-survivors across 49 locations. We also provide specialist information and support to anyone affected by any form of SVA in England and Wales, via our 24/7 national support line.
