How Can You Help?
You can help and support us at WRASAC by writing to your MSP to tell them that survivors can’t wait during the 16 days campaign in 2024.
We would ask for everyone to send a letter on 10th December 2024- LETS UNITE
We’ve suggested some text below but please feel free to write your own message. You can find details of who your MSPs are and how to contact them from the Scottish Parliament website.
Dear [Recipient MSP Name],
As your constituent, I am writing to you to express my urgent concern about the funding situation facing Rape Crisis Centres across Scotland.
Rape Crisis Centres, such as my local service Dundee and Angus Womens Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre ( WRASAC) are emergency services. They provide essential crisis and longer-term support for survivors of gender-based violence. Survivors often describe this support as lifesaving. It’s vital that these services can provide support quickly to every person who has experienced sexual violence who reaches out to them.
As they approach the end of their current funding cycle in March 2025, the uncertainty surrounding future financial funding support is severely impacting their ability to deliver essential services to survivors of sexual violence, domestic abuse and other forms of gender-based violence.
The Scottish Government has recognised the seriousness of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) through its Delivering Equally Safe Strategy, which aims to prevent and tackle VAWG effectively. The Equally Safe Delivery Plan states, “Violence against women and girls, in any form, has no place in our vision for a safe, strong, successful Scotland.” Furthermore, it emphasises that “the Scottish Government, COSLA and all partners intend to continue to drive progress by implementing action individually and collectively in a truly cross-cutting and inclusive way.”
Yet, without a clear commitment to funding these vital services, we are left questioning how they can continue to operate effectively.
Every woman has the right to feel safe, and the current funding climate undermines this fundamental principle. Long-term funding for these services, which for survivors, are emergency services, is crucial. The need for sustainable funding was highlighted in the Independent Review of Funding and Commissioning of Violence Against Women and Girls Services. Services like Rape Crisis should not be dependent on short-term, precarious pots of funding. This leaves specialist, highly trained workers, and service users with unacceptable uncertainty about the future of services.
Rape Crisis Centres work hard to be there for every survivor who needs them. To ensure no survivor is left waiting weeks or even months to receive support, more resources are urgently needed.
I hope you will agree that in a Scotland which takes combatting violence against women and girls seriously, these vital services should be properly resourced. I am writing to ask you as my MSP to raise this issue with the Scottish Government and ask for a commitment to address the funding crisis facing rape crisis centres.
I urge you to advocate for information re the funding post 2025 to be shared asap so these vital services can continue their support and for a review of the funding model to be prioritised so the financial support that is crucial for the survival of VAWG Services across Dundee is put in place.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
