Remembering the past but looking to the future
Helen Jones Manchester Metropolitan University
Nicole Westmarland University of Bristol
Autumn 2003 was a sad time for the Rape Crisis Movement in England and Wales due to the closure of Rape Crisis Federation. This brief article has been written to keep women informed and to emphasise that the closure of the Federation does not mean the closure of the Movement.
The history or 'herstory' of the rape crisis movement in Wales and England stems from the 1970s but has been rarely documented during its lifetime. This is partly because the movement was never about justifying itself in print. The women who came together, in different parts of the country to provide services for other women, had enough to do keeping core services going in the face of funding crises and general lack of support from many local authorities, social and health services and police forces. However, providing an outline of where we came from provides a good platform to now look at where we are going and how we relate to the wider community of the criminal justice system.
In England and Wales by the late 1980s, many rape crisis groups were meeting with each other to provide help and assistance in keeping services afloat. This informal structure culminated in a conference in the early 1990s, organised in the Midlands by local rape crisis centres, on the issue of federating. A small working party of eight women from different centres successfully raised funds from the Barrow Cadbury Trust to employ a development worker, to canvas the views and needs of rape crisis groups across the country. The Allen Lane Foundation provided funding for a survey of training needs and eventually, in 1995, a training co-ordination post was developed (Jones and Bernard, 2001).
As a result of this work, the Rape Crisis Federation of Wales and England (RCF) was formally launched in October 1996. It had only one (part-time) worker and a mammoth task ahead. This one worker was soon joined by another and a successful NLCB bid in 1998 resulted in the establishment of an office base in Nottingham. The organisation developed over the years, conducting diverse and demanding work.
One aspect of the work was in providing a range of services to the (then) fifty member rape crisis groups. This included training, advice, information, production of minimum standards, dissemination of good practice, networking and resources. RCF established a number of network groups, providing forums for ensuring good practice, equality of opportunity and access to services for all women. RCF worked towards the development of a national database system that all groups would be able to use. Funded by the Home Office Crime Reduction Programme, this data collection system would have provided a more detailed and accurate picture of rape and sexual assault in this country than ever before.
In April 2001, RCF secured further funding from the Home Office. RCF became a strong and vocal advocate for female survivors of sexual violence and for the services that exist to provide support for such women. It successfully lobbied on a significant number of legislative and policy related issues, significantly the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act and most recently the Sexual Offences Act 2003. It was not able to secure statutory, central funding for rape crisis centres despite strong lobbying.
In October 2003 the Home Office (RCF�s core funder) stopped funding RCF and the Federation had to close. The closure of the Federation was not due to a lack of need for such an organisation. Back in 1996 there were 5,759 reports of rape, 2003 there were over 14,000. The conviction rate for rapes reported to the police currently stands at one in twenty; representing one of the highest attrition levels in the whole of Europe (Kelly and Regan, 2001).
The Federation has provided the Government, the Police, the CPS and many other organisations with knowledge on the issue of sexual violence. It has participated at an international level, working with groups across Europe and beyond to bring the issue of sexual violence firmly onto the political and public agenda. The issues surrounding sexual violence have not gone away and the rape crisis movement will sorely miss the co-ordination of a national body.
The closure of RCF was the culmination of a period where its principles, traditions and structures of governance were sorely tested. It is remarkable timing that just as the Sexual Offences Bill was due to be enacted, just as an Inter-Ministerial group on sexual violence was formed and just as the Government was due to report to the United Nation on action taken to eliminate discrimination against women (as required under CEDAW), the Home Office chose to withdraw their financial support of this national group that defended women's rights to live their lives free from the fear of male sexual violence.
The withdrawal of funding at the end of October left the organisation with no option but to close. The situation at the local level is that rape crisis services are under-funded and many operate on an annual income of less than £20,000 (RCF, 2001).
Groups are dependant on funding from charitable trusts and where local authorities do sometimes fund groups, this funding is always under threat. The provision of services is therefore dependent on the efforts of women working in local areas, most often for little or no money.
Steering group meetings have been held in 2004 to try to re-establish a level of co-ordination for groups in England and Wales (Rape Crisis Co-ordination Group). Despite assurances from David Blunkett at a recent conference (April 2004) that his key priority is with the 'victim' and that the victim is at the heart of Home Office policy-making, the Rape Crisis Co-ordination Group has as yet not been awarded the £6,000 that proposed to allow Rape Crisis member groups to meet to discuss the future with the aim of establishing a new co-ordinating body. The group offered to meet with the Home Office to discuss future provision but this has not been taken up. This bid was made in January 2004 and the Home Office has not officially responded in writing as we write this article in June 2004. We will keep you informed as to the level of support the Government is really committed to. It lies with the Home Office to prove it actually has a heart to keep the victims at !!!
Jones, H. & Barnard, J. (2001) 'Knocking at the door: the Rape Crisis Federation', The British Council network newsletter.
Kelly, L. And Regan, L. (2001) Rape: The Forgotten Issue? A European Research And Networking Project. London: Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, University of North London.
RCF, (2001) Report 1999-2001. Nottingham: Rape Crisis Federation of Wales and England.