West Mercia's Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre closes waiting list over lack of funding
The counselling service needs around £600,000 a year to operate
West Mercia's Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRASAC) has closed its waiting list to victims after running out of funding for the counselling service.
It currently has 435 men, women and children waiting to receive professional therapy and counselling but can no longer accept any new referrals.
An adult already on the waiting is waiting on average 18 months to 2 years to receive support.
Funding for the helpline service has also run out but their advocacy service, which is funded by the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner, for victims in the criminal justice system will continue.
Cash to continue to counselling service has run out despite years of lobbying local authorities and healthcare partners to invest in the service.
Jocelyn Anderson, CEO of WMRASAC, said: "This is the hardest decision I've ever had to make.
"It's absolute heart-breaking and knowing that you are potentially putting people at risk is horrific and just wrong.
"It's just got to the stage where we can't carry on taking these clean hand referrals where agencies just pass people onto us and we've got the point where we can't sustain this anymore."
The service, which operates in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, was started in Worcester in 1986.
It needs around £600-800,000 a year to provide its counselling service.
Jocelyn Anderson says they need "sustainable funding" for it to continue rather than just a one-off investment.
She added: "Over the years we've been trying to engage with local authorities and health partners to show them what a brilliant service this is but nothing ever happens.
"And the irony of it is that we have got an incredibly skilled workforce of sexual violence therapists and counsellors.
"But we're now having to say we're going to lose some of them because we can't afford to kep them on."
Unlike domestic abuse services, which local authorities have to provide funding for by law, rape and sexual violence services must source their own funding from other organisations.
That's despite the fact that around 1 in 20 children are sexually abused before they are 16-years-old, with 1 in 5 women sexually abused at some point in their lives - and 1 in 8 men.
Jocelyn added: "It's the mis-conception of the scale of the issue and people just don't want to talk about rape and sexual vilence.
"But if it was your child that was raped you would want them to get support straight away. If it was your partner, whether they're female or male or however they identify, you would want to have support for them.
"And to be put in a situation where we're saying "enough is enough" is just devastating."
Watch the full interview with Jocelyn on our YouTube channel:
If you've been raped or sexually abused and need support visit: https://rapecrisis.org.uk/