Justice for rape victims: Our 2008 campaign

Last year, we presented Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker with our open letter highlighting how the government is failing rape victims. The letter was signed by over 2,300 people.   We then met with the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, to discuss the issues. The letter was published in the Times the same day, and you can read some of the press coverage by following the links on the right-hand side of this page.

New Funding for Rape Crisis Centres

On 18/04/08, Minister for Women Harriet Harman announced that the Government is planning to provide up to £1 million in new funding to help keep local Rape Crisis Centres open. However, this was a stop-gap measure sufficient only for averting the closure of eight centres rather than allowing investment in additional provision. The announcement of further funding in March 2009, of £1.6 million is encouraging.

However, a long term funding solution is yet to be identified.