News

Our statement on the ongoing employment tribunal concerning Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre

As a national organisation working to end sexual violence, Rape Crisis Scotland works with a network of 17 member Rape Crisis Centres across Scotland. Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre is an autonomous member centre and as such, Rape Crisis Scotland was not involved in any of the circumstances leading to the tribunal and cannot comment on the proceedings, which are ongoing.

Survivors Can't Wait campaign launches

We hear time and time again from survivors just how valuable Rape Crisis support has been to them. The support Rape Crisis Centres offer can be truly lifesaving. When a survivor reaches out for support, it's crucial that they are able to receive it then. Not weeks or months later. But this is the reality facing too many survivors across Scotland. Demand for Rape Crisis support in Scotland has grown year upon year. But the resources available to meet this demand have not kept up. 

After over a decade of austerity, long waiting lists for essential services, including Rape Crisis, have become the norm. Being on a waiting list simply means not having access to a service. We cannot accept this.

The Survivors Can't Wait campaign is calling for: Rape Crisis Scotland is calling for 

• An extension to emergency waiting list funding from the Scottish Government to protect 28 specialist jobs across the network 

• A commitment from the Scottish Government to sustainable and long-term funding for Rape Crisis services 

Our full response to the Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of VAWG Services

Rape Crisis Scotland and 16 member Rape Crisis Centres across Scotland have published a formal response to the Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Services in Scotland.

The strategic review, published in June of this year, made several welcome recommendations for the funding of VAWG services. These include implementing a legal right to access of VAWG services, which would mean that such services are no longer dependent on short-term, precarious funding. However, we have serious concerns over the review’s potential unintended negative consequences for Rape Crisis Centres in Scotland.

New changes to corroboration rules - an explainer

Up until now, every piece of evidence for every part of a crime must be backed up by another piece. This is corroboration. This is an issue which particularly affects sexual crime cases. Up until this week, for a rape to be prosecuted in Scotland, corroboration was needed for each element of the crime, so lack of consent, the identity of the accused, and penetration all had to be separately corroborated.

Last week, the High Court of Justiciary Appeal published a judgement about how corroboration is used in Scottish criminal trials. The judgement was published after the Lord Advocate had asked the Court to review how corroboration is used, specifically, requirements for corroboration in sexual offence cases.

This judgment sets out that from now, while corroboration is still required, there is no requirement to prove the separate elements of a crime by corroborated evidence. This is a seismic change, and one we hope will improve access to justice in relation to rape and sexual abuse.