News

March 2004

NEW FUNDING

DISAPPOINTMENT OVER VULNERABLE WITNESSES BILL

NEW FUNDING

SURVIVORS of sexual violence in Scotland will be able to access greatly improved support services thanks to a funding boost of £1.5M for the next two years.

All member centres of the Scottish Rape Crisis Network were successful in their applications to the Violence Against Women Service Development Fund (VAWSDF).

Rape Crisis Scotland national development worker Sandy Brindley said: “ We are delighted at the additional funding for rape crisis. It will make a significant difference to the support available to women and girls in Scotland experiencing sexual violence.”

Communities Minister Margaret Curran announced the money, along with grants totalling £3M from the Domestic Abuse Services Development Fund, on International Women’s Day.

She also announced a one-off £100,000 grant to Rape Crisis Scotland to help the national office increase the capacity of existing and newly developing SRCN rape crisis centres.

The grant will also enable Rape Crisis Scotland to provide a central information and resource service around sexual violence to organisations and individuals throughout Scotland .

The following organisations had their applications to the fund approved:

ABERDEEN/GRAMPIAN

Rape and Sexual Abuse (North East) - Support Worker - £78,173

To target support at women and girls who are difficult to reach, such as minority ethnic groups and women who work in the sex industry.

ARGYLL & BUTE

Argyll & Bute Council - Rape and Sexual Assault Support Workers - £40,225

To provide specialist training in support of sexual violence which will provide a network of support for women in the area.

DUMFRIES

The First Base Agency - Safe Haven Project - £37,150

To provide emotional support and advice on drug problems and information on sexual health to young women.

DUNDEE

Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, Dundee - £100,000

To increase the level of support available and train volunteers.

EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE

East Dunbartonshire Women Issues Forum - £63,235

Practical and emotional support, such as liaising with housing or social work and confidence building and anxiety management classes for women.

EDINBURGH

City of Edinburgh Council - Homelessness Services: Women’s Safety Initiative - £98,000

To establish a project to promote the protection and safety of women made homeless or at risk of homelessness as a result of violence or abuse, so that housing officers can better identify and respond to their needs.

The ARK Trust - Working with Homeless Women to Prevent Violence Against Them and Support Them to Cope with Experiences of Violence - £91 ,000

To progress the work of the ARK Trust which currently supports women-only service provision to homeless women with complex needs and chaotic lifestyle who have/are suffering male violence. To employ a full time support worker and conduct research to investigate homeless women’s experiences of violence which will be used to inform future work.

Edinburgh Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre - £99,723

This office is currently understaffed and funding will help recruit a full-time Support Service Co-ordinator and a part-time Information Development Worker.

Sexual Abuse Survivors Project - SASSIE Development Project - £98,482

To expand the service to offer more places, employ a Development/Training Worker and Administrator (both part-time) and recruit and train volunteers.

FALKIRK

Open Secret - Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse - £100,000

Open Secret is a community development project working from a feminist perspective providing a service to adult survivors for ten years. The funding will provide longer term support for women because of systematic abuse or involved in the sex trade and work with adult survivors of child sex abuse.

Falkirk Council - Homelessness Resettlement – Violence Against Women - £70,000

To fund a project to identify the needs of and support women survivors of sexual violence and exploitation. It is anticipated that this service would reduce the risk of repeat homeless presentations by working with women to help them sustain tenancies.

GLASGOW

Castlemilk Law Centre, Women and Children’s Rights Project - Criminal Injuries Compensation Rights Worker - £92,483

To work to improve access to Criminal Injuries Compensation for cases involving male violence. To provide free legal advice and representation to victims of rape and domestic abuse and to progress individual compensation claims and link in with the domestic abuse court pilot in Glasgow .

SAY Women - Outreach Personal Support Project - £63,642

SAY Women supports young women to look at the impact of sexual abuse on their addiction use and related issues such as self-harm. It provide safe accommodation, practical and emotional support and works in partnership with addiction support services. This funding will allow the service to extend its provision.

Glasgow City Council - Support Service for Victims of Trafficking - £100,000

To set up a pilot project in Glasgow , as currently there is no service in Scotland providing specialist support to women who have been trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation. The Home Office runs a pilot project which has found that the nature of the issues facing women are similar to those experienced by those wishing to exit prostitution, however trafficked women are also immobilised by fear and death threats against them and their families at home and are unable to leave because they have no money or passports. In addition, they face the prospect of being dealt with as illegal immigrants and are unlikely to then disclose that they have been trafficked without intense specialist support and safety provision. The Pilot will assess the needs of women who have been trafficked and provide support services and collate information about people suspected of being involved in trafficking to enhance intelligence.

Glasgow Rape Crisis Centre - Support Service Co-ordinator - £100,000

To employ workers and deliver a drop-in service and support groups.

Women’s Support Project - Community Based Awareness Raising Workshops (child sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation) - £17,050

To raise awareness of the cause, extent and impact of child sex abuse and harm caused through prostitution. To fund workshops on a range of violence against women issues to Forums in Glasgow and identify gaps in information sharing.

HIGHLAND

Marriage Counselling Highland/Relate - A Woman’s Place - £56,232

To offer a professional counselling service specifically targeted at women who have experienced rape, sexual assault, quickly within the whole of Highland Region. At present there is a waiting list and no service in Nairn or Lochaber which is 134 miles without a rail link to Inverness . Their experience has been that by the time they offer appointments women have moved or say it is too late; however, the large majority come back for an appointment within six months. This money means the service can be expanded.

LANARKSHIRE

NHS Lanarkshire EVA Project - £81,845

Funding will improve existing services to women who have experienced sexual assault through better co-ordination processes between local agencies and a case tracking approach.

PERTHSHIRE

Perthshire Women’s Aid - Women and Violence Counselling Project - £28,142

There is currently no provision for counselling women who have been abused or raped in Perthshire. Perthshire Women’s Aid does not have a remit to support women outside domestic abuse and Perthshire Association for Mental Health is a mixed resource with no facilities to provide a dedicated women-only service. Funding to provide counselling service within the safe women-only space of Perthshire Women’s Aid.

RENFREWSHIRE

Renfrewshire Women and Children First - Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Support Service - £76,226

This is a one-door approach to women and children affected by any form of violence. The Project is the lead agency to co-ordinate the public information and awareness strategy in the area. The funding will help provide specific support service for young women, particularly those who are accommodated by the local authority and who are exploited through prostitution/sexual abuse.

WEST LOTHIAN

Heathcare NHS Trust Psychology Dept - Beyond Sexual Abuse Groups - £27,600

In West Lothian there is an established group treatment for women suffering mental health problems as a result of sexual abuse in childhood. This funding will enable more staff to be trained in a support role.

THE JANUARY FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT

The Violence Against Women Service Development Fund had been announced in November 2003 and rape crisis centres received a further boost in January when Ms Curran announced a total of £1.96 million additional funds for rape crisis centres and related services. These funds included £50,000 per year for 2 years for each of the following 9 organisations:

Rape Crisis Centre, Glasgow ;
Edinburgh Women’s Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre;
Women’s Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre, Dundee;
Fife Rape & Sexual Assault Centre;
Ayr Rape Crisis & Survivors Sexual Abuse Centre;
Central Scotland Rape Crisis & Sexual Abuse Centre;
South West Rape Crisis & Sexual Abuse Centre;
Highland Rape & Abuse Line
Rape Counselling & Resource Centre, Kilmarnock .

In addition, £95,000 per year has been allocated to Rape and Sexual Abuse North East – formerly Aberdeen Rape Crisis Centre - for two years; the higher funding being in recognition of the particularly poor level of funding they were operating with.

The £1.96 million additional funds also included funding for setting up 4 new rape crisis centres; funding to Rape Crisis Scotland to commission a feasibility study into setting up a national rape crisis helpline and funding to commission a review of rape crisis service provision in Scotland .

The Scottish Executive news release on the Violence Against Women funding announcement is at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2004/03/SEC100d.aspx

The news release on the January funding announcement is on a link on our January news page and at: www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2004/01/SECO176b.aspx

DISAPPOINTMENT OVER VULNERABLE WITNESSES BILL

The Vulnerable Witnesses ( Scotland ) Bill was approved by MSPs in early March.

The Bill aims to widen the number of witnesses classed as vulnerable to enable them to access special measures such as screens, the use of a supporter and giving evidence via a live television link. While Rape Crisis Scotland and children’s charities have welcomed some of the provisions of the Bill there are many ways in which those campaigning for vulnerable witnesses feel it did not go far enough.

Rape Crisis Scotland has been lobbying the Scottish Parliament to try to obtain changes to the Bill which would have given automatic entitlement to special measures for complainers in sexual offence cases. The Executive had promised to look at the arguments for giving automatic entitlement to complainers in sexual offence and domestic abuse related cases, following a request from the Justice 2 Committee. A number of MSPs supported amending the Bill to give automatic entitlement in these circumstances. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the Bill as passed gives complainers in sexual offences cases only discretionary entitlement to special measures. This means that women may only find out whether or not they can access special measures shortly before the case goes to court.

The Scottish Executive has, however, made a commitment to promoting training and providing guidance around identifying people who may be in need of special measures. The Lord Advocate will also be issuing instructions to the police on the identification and reporting of vulnerable witnesses. The Crown Office has also made a commitment to working with organisations such as Rape Crisis and Women’s Aid in relation to identifying potential vulnerability.

The Vulnerable Witnesses ( Scotland ) Bill will be implemented in 2005.

The full Bill as passed is on the Scottish Parliament website at

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/bills/pdfs/b5bs2.pdf

The debate from March 4th is also on the website at

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/plenary/or-04/sor0304-01.htm