News

Statement on waiting lists and the need for sustainable funding

Rape Crisis Scotland is calling for crucial funding for Rape Crisis Centres delivered during the Covid-19 pandemic to be extended.

10 centres across Scotland shared in £1,125,000 of funding to tackle waiting lists. This figure fell short of the £4,03,239 requested but made a significant impact on the support survivors were able to access during this period.

Waiting list funding enabled centres to boost staff numbers and tackle long waiting lists for support. If the waiting list funding is not extended, centres across Scotland have warned that a significant impact will be made to their ability to support survivors of sexual violence.

Some centres are already reporting long waiting lists, a situation which will worsen is funding is not extended.

Rape Crisis Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government to

• Extend the waiting list funding
• Deliver more sustainable funding for Rape Crisis Centres across Scotland

Sandy Brindley, Chief Executive, Rape Crisis Scotland said: “We’ve got to remember that when we’re talking about waiting lists, what that actually means for a person waiting for support is an absence of service.

“The support that Rape Crisis Centres offer is truly life-saving. It is heart breaking that a lack of resources means that some survivors are unable to access support when they need it.

“Extending the waiting list funding is critical for Rape Crisis services to be able to function. But Rape Crisis Centres also need more sustainable long term funding. Without reliable funding, highly skilled and trained Rape Crisis Support Workers are left on precarious contracts. Unstable funding risks Rape Crisis services losing highly trained staff.

“We understand there are many pressures on public funding right now. But funding must be delivered for essential services, which Rape Crisis services are, to be able to offer people across Scotland crucial support.

“Survivors must feel able to contact their local Rape Crisis Centre if they’re in need of support. We’d urge any survivor who is thinking about reaching out to do so.”

Jan Swan, Manager of Fife Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (FRASAC) said: “When people require support and come forward, they need it now- not eight months later. When FRASAC had long waiting lists, we lost people by the time we were in a position to offer support, when we contacted them, they were gone. Not because their trauma went away but because we had lost them to drugs, alcohol, deteriorating mental health or even on some occasions to suicide.

“Families lost parents, children and siblings. Friends lost their friendships. Employers lost their employees.

“But GPs had more patients requiring support. Accident and emergency units had more people walking through their doors. And mental health services were under more pressure.”

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For more information please contact Claire Thomson, Communications Manager, Rape Crisis Scotland – Claire.thomson@rapecrisisscotland.org.uk