Rape crisis centres across Scotland have issued a stark warning to the Scottish Government, accusing ministers of “negligent disregard for survivors of rape and sexual violence” as waiting times for support spiral past five months in some areas.
In an open letter to cabinet secretaries Shona Robison and Shirley-Anne Somerville, issued ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25th November, the leaders of Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis, Rape Crisis Ayrshire and Arran, Western Isles Rape Crisis Centre and Lanarkshire Rape Crisis Centre demanded urgent assurances that funding will be increased in January’s Scottish Budget.
The centres say short-term and static funding has pushed services to breaking point. Some survivors now face waits of up to 151 days for support.
The letter warns that Scottish ministers “must work harder to let women and girls know they are valued, supported, and heard.”
Sexual crime continues to rise across Scotland. Between 2021 and 2024/25, Police Scotland recorded a 3% increase nationally, with the City of Glasgow seeing a 13% rise. Last year, sexual crimes made up 5% of all recorded crime.
Demand at Glasgow & Clyde Rape Crisis – the country’s largest centre – has grown every year since 2021. More than 3,000 survivors received one-to-one support last year, with over 40,000 contact points recorded, a 42% rise on the previous year.
Latest figures show the four centres who have signed the letter provided 40% of all support delivered across Scotland, while a further 13 centres collectively provided the remaining 60%.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Claudia Macdonald-Bruce said the government is making political choices that leave survivors behind.
“We are sympathetic to the Scottish government’s financial constraints, but it is a political choice to fund new train stations and IT systems over helping women and girls who have experienced unimaginable brutality and violation to heal from their trauma,” she said.
“It shows an utter, and negligent, disregard for survivors at a time when demand for services continues to rise.
“We remain resolute in our mission to support women and girls, but something has to give. We are asking for commitment to additional funding so we can operate beyond April next year, and secure the longevity of our centre so that we don’t need to turn survivors away.
“For around £500 we can provide our specialist service to one survivor for a whole year. Every £500 we don’t have means we have to turn someone away.”
In the letter to Ms Robison, the centre leaders say funding has “not kept pace with need”, leading to longer waits, reduced service availability and women “not being given the help they choose from us, and more critically, deserve.”
They warn that the Delivering Equally Safe fund has remained effectively static since 2021. The 12.5% uplift announced in February was cancelled out by the end of temporary Covid-19 recovery funding – leaving many centres worse off.
Funding pressures are already hitting services. Last month, Glasgow & Clyde Rape Crisis temporarily paused referrals to its Justice Support to Report service due to limited funding, reopening only after securing alternative support. Other centres are also at crisis point.
When the Scottish Budget is announced on 13th January, there will be just 78 days until the new financial year begins – fewer days than some survivors are currently waiting to access support.
The centres say without urgent intervention, waiting lists will grow further into 2025/26, “leaving survivors without the support they need and deserve.”
They are calling for an immediate funding uplift in the upcoming budget to protect essential services in the short term, and for the Scottish Government to finally implement its own recommendations on long-term funding so no woman or girl is ever left unable to access help.