£4.1m for specialist services to support victims of sexual violence in the Midlands
Ten charities in the region will benefit from the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund.
Last updated 3rd Aug 2023
Victims of rape and sexual violence in the West Midlands will be better supported following a £4.1million investment in specialist services announced today (3 August).
The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASASF) was initially launched by the Government in 2011, and is now awarding further funding to a number of projects.
Ten charities in the West Midlands will benefit from a share of the £41.million:
- Birmingham Rape & Sexual Violence Project
- Black Country Women’s Aid
- Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre
- Safeline Warwick
- RoSA
- Axis Counselling
- West Mercia Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre
- Sarac
- Savana
- Staffordshire Women's Aid
62 grants have been awarded to organisations across the country to offer victims tailored support programmes, including counselling and therapeutic services, advocacy, outreach, and group activities.
Minister for Victims at the Ministry of Justice, Ed Argar, said:
“We are determined that, alongside this Government's clear focus and progress on ensuring more criminals who commit rape and sexual offences face justice, victims and survivors of these dreadful crimes get the support they need.
“The funding announced today helps ensure that charities and organisations up and down the country are able to continue doing their vital work helping victims of these crimes."
Neil Henderson, CEO of Safeline, said: “RASASF is Safeline’s core funding for supporting survivors. It’s flexible, acknowledging our expertise to maximise its impact for survivors. It’s multi-year, allowing us to confidentially plan our support, while the increase in funding enables us to provide, timely, long-term support to more survivors.”
An adult Female CSA survivor said: “Financial support for this vital service for the people of Warwickshire will enable more people like me to discover a whole, more fulfilling life."
The funding comes as CPS data published today shows charges for adult rape cases increased to 567 in the latest quarter, (January – March 2023), 5% over the 2016 quarterly average and Rape Review ambition of 538. This means the Government has already met all 3 key ambitions in the Rape Review ahead of schedule – restoring the number of police referrals, CPS charges and cases reaching court to 2016 levels.
In July all 43 police forces across England and Wales, and all rape prosecutors across the country, began implementing a new approach to dealing with rape and other serious sexual offences, ensuring forces conduct thorough investigations which put the focus on the suspect and centre the rights and needs of victims.
This new approach, developed through Operation Soteria and previously piloted in 19 police forces and 9 Crown Prosecution Service Areas, uses academic evidence and insight to enable forces and prosecutors to transform their response to rape and serious sexual offences.
A £1.2 million training programme has also been launched for Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisors who provide emotional and practical support to victims. The Government is funding 1,000 of these posts and the training to make sure these vulnerable victims get better help and stay engaged with the criminal justice system.