ERCC facing devastating cuts to its services if funding is not extended by the Scottish Government

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre is a charity that has been supporting survivors of sexual violence for 45 years. They provide free and confidential support to survivors aged 12 and over, of all genders in Edinburgh, East Lothian and Midlothian. 

They offer a wide range of support to survivors. This includes: support following a recent rape or sexual assault; advocacy for reporting to the police; support projects for young survivors and students; a dedicated service for survivors from black and minority ethnic backgrounds; group support; and outreach in East Lothian and Midlothian. 

In 2021, the Scottish Government granted emergency funds to tackle waiting lists at most centres across Rape Crisis centres in Scotland. Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre received £760,000 for two years. This funding is due to expire in March 2024. This means that in under three months, Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre could lose funding for over 10 specialist jobs supporting survivors. 

By the end of November 2023, Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre had 133 survivors on their waiting lists for support. This will inevitably increase and they will have to close their services to new referrals if this funding is not continued. When a survivor reaches out for that support, they need to receive it then. Not weeks, months, or years later. But without guaranteed long term funding, this is the reality facing too many survivors.

Rape Crisis support services are truly lifesaving and run by highly trained staff. A lack of sustainable funding means that these skilled workers are too often left without long term job security and the centre cannot guarantee service provision. This simply isn’t good enough.

The Rape Crisis network in 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.

Mridul Wadhwa, Chief Executive Officer, Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre said “There is huge demand for all of our support and advocacy services. This year we had to take the difficult decision to close most of our services to new referrals because we do not have the resources to meet the need for our support, and survivors were having to wait over a year for our vital support.

We have only just re-opened most of our services to new referrals. Without the renewal of the Scottish Government’s waiting list funding we will lose £380,000 next year, which will result in losing over 10 specialist jobs in our support service. This will be devastating for survivors wanting to access our service or waiting for support. It will affect all our specialist support and advocacy services for survivors aged 12 and over in Edinburgh, East Lothian, and Midlothian. 

We are calling on the Scottish Government to hear our plea to protect specialist jobs and support services for survivors. Rape Crisis services are essential services and offer lifesaving support. This funding is critical to Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. We need long-term sustainable funding so that staff and survivors can be assured that we can continue to deliver all of our support services for years to come.”

You can email your MSP to call on them to protect Rape Crisis specialist jobs here: https://saveercc.netlify.app/