Blog
Poverty disproportionately impacts women - we need solutions
After over a decade of austerity in the UK, the cost-of-living crisis could hardly have come at a worse time. Scotland remains an unequal country with very high levels of poverty. As an organisation that primarily serves women, we are acutely aware of the gendered impact of austerity and economic difficulties. Rape Crisis Centres across Scotland have been dealing with this impact first hand.
Women are more likely to do low-paid work, more likely to rely on public transport (the costs of which are soaring) and are more likely to struggle with high childcare costs. Women of colour, disabled women and women in other marginalised groups continue to face particular social disadvantages.
Poverty and bad quality and insecure housing and employment all create trauma and poor emotional wellbeing and contribute to a risk of gender-based violence. The cost-of-living crisis has only deepened these inequalities.
Delivering services that work for survivors of colour
By Talat Yaqoob
Women are not a homogenous group. Survivors of sexual violence are not a homogenous group. As such, sexual violence support services and policy-influencing to tackle violence against women, cannot be delivered effectively if they are responding under the wrong assumption that “one size fits all.” It is why many women’s organisations in Scotland have shifted their work into what is termed an “intersectional” approach. This simply means that they are delivering their services, advocacy and influencing with the acknowledgement of the impact of overlapping systems of inequality and oppression, and that they respond with the understanding that many women face multiple and compounding inequalities. For example; sexism alongside racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia and/or ableism.
Call it out – what men and boys can do to end gender-based violence
We want to see a Scotland free of sexual violence, and of all forms of gender-based violence. To help us move closer to this vision, it’s essential that we involve boys and men in conversations about gender stereotypes, violence and inequality.
Sexual violence is a gendered crime. The overwhelming majority of victims of sexual violence, and domestic abuse, are women and girls. And in most cases, these crimes are perpetrated by men. Men and boys are also harmed by these attitudes, and damaging stereotypes and expectations about masculinity. These can have a devastating impact on men’s mental health. To see real change, we need to eradicate sexist and misogynistic attitudes at all levels of society.
Supporting LGBTQ+ Survivors
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Reaching out to a helpline can be difficult for anyone, and we know that LGBTQ+ survivors can face additional barriers to support which can make reaching out that bit harder.
The Rape Crisis Scotland helpline supports survivors of all genders and sexualities. Every person that contacts our helpline, regardless of their background or identity, is met with specialised support tailored to their individual needs.
We're proud to be inclusive, and we want all survivors to know that our helpline is a safe space. We spoke with Annie and Rona, two Support Workers from our helpline team, to find out what they want LGBTQ+ survivors to know.
How do you create a safe space for LGBTQ+ survivors?
Annie: We don’t make assumptions about any survivors, and that includes assumptions about their gender and sexuality, the gender of their partner and the nature of the assault. We let survivors lead and we just ask for as much information as we need to be able to support them.
Rona: We always follow a survivor’s lead on language and if somebody mentions their gender, we will ask them if they would feel comfortable sharing their pronouns, and that can help. It seems like a tiny thing but it can be huge, and it can really create that safe space just by asking that. I definitely have had the experience of asking someone their pronouns and you can almost feel the comfort that we are meeting them where they’re at.
Annie: We also have training in supporting LGBTQ+ survivors, so we have an understanding of the specific barriers that can come up and we have sensitivity to that.
Annie: Sexual violence can impact all areas of your life, and survivors will contact us to discuss how it has affected their relationships, sex life or sexuality. The helpline is a safe space to talk about sexuality and we’re trained to talk about it.
Specialist sexual violence services save lives
“The helpline saved my life
on several occasions after I was raped. The first person I told was a helpline
worker.”
The recently published Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of VAWG Services in Scotland made a number of positive recommendations for how services designed to target violence against women and girls are funded and delivered, including making the right to access these services a statutory one.
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