Rape charities struggling to cope with 'unprecedented' spike in #MeToo sex crime survivors seeking help

Sexual assault and rape charities are running at capacity and are unable to meet unprecedented demand following a spike in survivors seeking help after the Harvey Weinstein and other high-profile sex crime allegations came to light.

Since allegations against Weinstein broke in October, more than 50 women have made claims against him, ranging from sexual harassment to rape. He denies allegations of non-consensual sex. UK police are now investigating seven sexual assault allegations against the film producer.

The Weinstein scandal led to several other high-profile people being accused of sex crimes via social media under the #MeToo campaign – where millions of people globally have publicly shared their own experiences of sexual harassment and assault.

The huge public response to #MeToo, coupled with the extensive media coverage, has meant people away from celebrity circles were galvanised to take action and seek help, but this positive response has put a strain on the already stretched rape charity sector.

Rape Crisis England and Wales has experienced an “unprecedented” increase in demand each year since 2012, according to Katie Russell, a spokesperson for the charity. Speaking to The Independent, she said that in the year to March 2017, the charity responded to its highest number of helpline calls, totalling 202,666, and the number of people accessing services increased by 16 per cent on the previous year.

On top of this, ​Rape Crisis South London, which runs the national helpline for the charity offering information and support for survivors, saw a 30 per cent spike in calls during October. The organisation has since been forced to close its waiting list until it can meet the increase in demand for face-to-face support.

Many specialist organisations such as Rape Crisis centres and SurvivorsUK rely on funding from public and private bodies to carry out their work.

“As soon as the Weinstein story broke it was mayhem,” Yvonne Traynor, CEO of Rape Crisis South London and Surrey and Sussex, told The Independent. “So many survivors think they are the only person this has happened to, but seeing other women come forward gave them the confidence to come forward themselves.”

The Rape Crisis centres overseen by Ms Traynor offer long-term recovery programmes, including a year of therapy. She said her “heart sinks” when the centres are forced to close their already long waiting lists because there are no other specialist organisations in the area. “We’re saying to people to hang on in there and use the helpline,” she said, which is staffed by people trained to offer emotional support. “We don’t want to deter women from coming forward and could see more people if we had more funding,” she said. “In order to do the work and do it effectively, we need more money.”

At SurvivorsUK, which supports male victims of sexual violence, the waiting list for its counselling services has been growing all year following the widespread coverage of child sex abuse allegations within football. Police are currently investigating over 2,000 referrals as part of Operation Hydrant involving more than 330 clubs. Recent coverage of sexual abuse has added to this pressure and the service’s waiting list is currently six months long.

Major news stories about sexual violence have a “huge” impact on the service, resulting in a spike in calls to the helpline and referrals to its services, acting CEO Andy Connolly told The Independent. Its helpline saw a 73 per cent increase in calls in October compared to the same time last year.

The service is able to deliver around 2,000 hours of counselling – which equates to seeing around 75 people – per year, and a webchat service where men can speak to trained professionals online. “Any counselling sessions currently provided in excess of that would be funded by charity reserves or other sources of funding,” Mr Connolly said, adding that “funding difficulties and uncertainty does make it difficult for small charities to be responsive to spikes in demand”.

Fay Maxsted OBE, chief executive of The Survivors Trust, which oversees SurvivorsUK, said the Weinstein and Westminster stories may create a spike but “at a time when there are more and more people coming forward, demand seems to be continually increasing”. Services have been encouraged to expand but don’t have the funding to allow them to maintain their new level of capacity, she told The Independent, adding: “We need an overhaul of the funding [model].”

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has allocated £7.2m to rape charity services for 2018 to 2019, and £194,000 to SurvivorsUK as part of its commitment to support male victims of sexual violence. It also provides £4.7m to police and crime commissioners (PCCs) to deliver local support services for victims of child sexual abuse.

While each Rape Crisis and Survivors Trust member centre in England and Wales receives a portion of funding from the MoJ each year – with some also receiving support through department money allocated to local PCCs – none are fully funded by the Government.

Former minister for women and equality Harriet Harman MP told The Independent that funding this form of support for victims of sexual violence is “key to ensuring that offenders are brought to justice”.

She said: “Because there is a patchwork of resourcing, with some centres centrally funded and some funded by local councils, it’s too easy for the Government to wash its hands and allow others to take the blame for resources being cut back – when it should be taking responsibility.”

Ms Harman said the work done in women’s centres up and down the country provides life-changing aid and “invisible heroism” to those who need support in hospitals, in court and through counselling “so they can get their life back on track after an attack”.

Last year Mayor of London Sadiq Khan extended funding for the city’s sexual abuse support services by £4m until March 2018, when a new model will be introduced as part of his Police and Crime Plan. Existing services include four Rape Crisis Centres and three Sexual Assault Referral Centres, which provide forensic medical examinations and counselling, tests and treatment for survivors.

Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Sophie Linden said: “We are doing everything we can, but support services are under strain and we continue to call on the Government to provide the funding necessary to meet the rise in demand.”

A spokesperson for the MoJ said the department is committed to providing victims of rape and sexual assault with the support they need to cope with and recover from the effects of these crimes.

“Under the 2016-2020 Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, we have committed to ensuring funding for rape support services is sustainable and have begun a cross-government review to consider how best to continue to meet victims’ needs under this commitment,” the spokesperson said.