Herstory of the Scottish rape crisis movement

Campaigning by feminists over the last 30 years and more has helped dramatically change attitudes towards rape and sexual abuse, raising public awareness about how widespread sexual violence is and contributing to policy changes such as improvements to the way the health service and the criminal justice system respond.

The rape crisis movement in Scotland, together with our sister organisations and others in the UK and internationally, has been at the forefront of campaigning against violence against women and girls. These campaigns have contributed to the current situation where many of the issues we raise are being taken on board more fully than before at government level, both in the Scottish Executive and at Westminster. (for more information on this, see the Campaigning and News sections of this website)

Although we value enormously the successes that have been achieved, there are still major problems in the way our society tolerates high rates of abuse and scandalously low conviction rates. Many survivors struggle with the deeply damaging and often long-term effects of sexual violence with little support, while organisations trying to provide that support face serious under-funding.

There is much more to be done, but what follows is a brief account of our work to date.

Rape Crisis Scotland receives core funding for the national office from the Scottish Executive under Section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968.