….makes depressing and angrifying reading but I recommend you read it.
It’s a report from EVAW (End Violence Against Women) in partnership with EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) about ‘the postcode lottery of violence against women support services’. In her article about the report in the Guardian Julie Bindel says:
Most women in the UK do not have access to a rape crisis centre, and fewer than one in 10 local authorities provide for minority ethnic women escaping or recovering from attempted “honour” crimes, forced marriage or female genital mutilation. Almost a third of local authorities have no specific domestic violence services, and fewer than one in 10 have services for women in prostitution.
and
There are more refuge spaces for abused and stray cats and dogs in the UK than for women and their children escaping domestic violence. For those who wish to stop smoking, there are more places to go for instant access to help than for women who feel their lives are in danger from a former partner.
Anyone who’s been reading here for a while will know that much of my life is taken up with the provision of support services for women recovering from experiences of violence and the essence of this report really doesn’t surprise me. The local Rape Crisis group I volunteer with learns of the closure of yet another group almost every month as more and more women call us from further and further afield. There were 85 Rape Crisis centres in England and Wales in 1984. These days there are only 32 - and that’s not because there are fewer women wanting our help and support. The Refuge group I work with can only just manage the ever growing demand for space for women and their children fleeing domestic violence and abuse from all areas of the country.
Both groups I work with are seriously underfunded, women only, Not for Profit organisations. Women who need violence against women support services tend to prefer services designed and delivered by such organisations because we are woman-centred and client led. We’re non-threatening. Statutory agencies work in a different way and often seem to work to an agenda that is less about enabling and empowering women and more about blaming and punishing them. For thirty years or more Not for Profit violence against women services have been achieving excellent results - changing lives - on a shoestring.
The Map of Gaps illustrates only too well the shameful tokenism of successive governments in their repeated acknowledgement of our wealth of knowledge and expertise and their abject failure to put their money where their mouth is. It actually costs the public purse far more not to support Women’s Refuges, Rape Crisis Centres, services for BME women and prostitution and trafficking services than it would if existing services were adequately funded and allowed to get on with doing what we do best - supporting women in their recovery from experiences of violence.
(I could go into a long and boring tirade about Supporting People here - the Central funding stream that was hailed as the saviour of Refuge funding problems but has turned out to be a time consuming red-tape exercise that has us all jumping through endless administrative hoops which keep us from doing our jobs i.e. actually supporting people. And all for peanuts! It really is the bane of my life but I’ll leave that for another time.)
From the Map of Gaps here’s an illustration of the postcode lottery as far as Rape Crisis Centres are concerned.
It’s shameful, isn’t it.
9 responses so far ↓
Debs // December 1, 2007 at 10:32 am
I wanted to volunteer with the local Rape Crisis Centre, until I found out that the nearest one to me is 45 miles away, and there isn’t a single one in the whole of my county.
That map really demonstrates with great impact just how pitiful the provision for rape victims in this country is.
Sarah (Ethically Speaking) // December 1, 2007 at 12:13 pm
It’s another Jaws moment.
“We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
But it’s also an odd sense of opposite reactions - it’s stupidly inadequate but at the same time I wish we didn’t need it at all.
How can we help?
sparklematrix // December 1, 2007 at 1:29 pm
It’s a shame that Rape Crisis Centres aren’t springing up at the same rate as lap dancing clubs. Isn’t it?
womensspace // December 1, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Thanks for this great post, Witchy. So discouraging. We still have many DV shelters in the U.S., but by far most of them are run by Christian organizations and many by conservative/evangelical organizations! Women go in seeking refuge from abuse and end up subjected to endless religious proselytizing. These shelters, instead of offering women’s stories of successfully escaping abuse, offer women’s “testimonies” of “getting saved.”
jennifer drew // December 1, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Just to add my four pen’orth worth which country has a 24 help line for drink related issues and no 24 hour help line for survivors of male sexual violence. Here right now in the UK of course. Just shows how male violence against women continues to be perceived by the Government as a non-issue. Oh yes I know economically the cost of male violence against women is astronomical all because so many women have no access to specialised non-statutory organisations. But there we don’t want feminist organisations operating when the so-called ‘real specialists’ are able to provide support. As you said Witchy, many statutory bodies have their own agendas and much of it is about blaming women and telling them they must do more to end the male violence they are experiencing.
Now we have pathetic attempts at window dressing in respect of how rape survivors are treated by the courts and legal system. Nothing will change until a Government takes a realistic, multi-purpose approach which isn’t happening at present. But I can dream that one day women’s rights will be top of the agenda. I live in hope! But then of course we will need men’s rights top the agenda, because men are being discriminated against too. Men also experience identical violence to women. (Sic).
sparklematrix // December 2, 2007 at 12:52 am
Oh look, there’s one in Newcastle and that’ll be R.E.A.C.H. which is ran by Northumbria Police Force where I was offered a counsellors job many moons ago. I turned the offer down for a couple of reasons but mainly because the Chief of Police - whatever? Who was on the interview panel made it clear that the coppers wanted us to try and persuade the girl/woman to press charges.
Yeah right.
Totally not appropriate for a counsellor to try and direct her client ever, and especially not in something as sensitive as rape counselling. The supervisor of course did not agree with him, but still, I was left feeling there were too many men - with real power - involved.
So I declined.
stormy // December 2, 2007 at 8:31 am
So true Sparkle, so true.
Of course, I live in a red zone (no surprise there, as the country is mainly red zone). We have a limited telephone helpline service in the area. Thankfully we do have a drop-in Women’s Aid locally (M-F) and WA refuges — but then again we do have the highest DV rate in the county. Not something to be terribly proud of.
The town also has the rape problem associated with several well-known clubs in the area. These clubs have cage dancers (and recruiting for fully nude cage dancers) and frequently host Lads’ Mags events. (Frankly, they may as well be lap dancing clubs.) I sometimes see young wimmin going to these clubs and think “lambs to the slaughter” and wonder how many of them will be raped.
At least Cameron’s recent speech was promising (and surprisingly well briefed).
simplywondered // December 5, 2007 at 9:15 pm
cameron the solution ???
hmmmm…..
i think women in general and women like you are more like the way forward - not absolving the men but i trust nobody expects anything from a man who wants to repeal the human rights act
Ethically Speaking :: Who is guilty? :: February :: 2008 // February 16, 2008 at 11:07 pm
[...] result in a conviction. Highlighted by the lovely Witchy At the Foot of the Stairs, last November - The Map of Gaps is horrifying. Only 32 Rape Crisis centres across the country and they’re ALL under [...]
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