Rape Crisis in Crisis
Its centres are the only source of support for the thousands of
victims who experience sexual violence in the UK every year, however
Rape Crisis is in the middle of its very own crisis, due to a severe
shortage of funding, according to a new survey by the organisation.In a country where the conviction rate for rape stands at
a woeful 5.3%, as many as half the centres - which provide a crucial
support service for women with recent and historic experience of rape
and sexual assault - are facing closure.
Why is this still an issue? This is from an article in the Guardian in March 2008 - but it’s a never ending problem. (The cat pic is not from the Guardian, but from Lolcatz, with my caption.)
What’s bugging me is that I’ve been hearing the same thing for year after year, both in the news and from people who work in Rape Crisis. Here in the UK we’ve gone from 68 centres in 1984 to 38 in 2008. Now, with a conviction rate of 5.3% of only 10% reported rape, as a country we are clearly sending a powerful message aren’t we. Don’t bother reporting it if you are unlucky enough to be raped, as there’s no support for you and even if you happen to find a Rape Crisis centre still open near you then the chances are it’ll only be available for limited hours and you’ll never see your rapist convicted anyway. It completely devalues the experience and life of a raped woman, denies her the healing and support she needs.
Sitting here shaking my head in disbelief at our national inhumanity.
