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<p>Serious sexual violence and rape are horrendous crimes. It is essential that victims
and survivors of these crimes have access to support when and where they need it most.</p><p>In
accordance with the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code), a person
is entitled to support if they have suffered harm, including physical, mental or emotional
harm or economic loss, which was directly caused by a criminal offence. They are entitled
to access victim support services at any time, whether they have reported a crime
or not.</p><p>In March this year the Government increased funding available to these
essential services by 10% - up to £8m per year and totalling £24m over the next three
years to specialist sexual violence and abuse support services across England and
Wales. This enables these services to provide advice, support and counselling to victims
of these appalling crimes to help them cope with and, as far as possible, recover
from the effects of crime. Part of this funding will go towards Independent Sexual
Violence Adviser’s to provide impartial advocacy for victims of sexual violence and
abuse who have reported to the police or are considering reporting to the police.
This funding ensures that, for the first time, that there are government-funded services
in all 42 of the country’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) areas. This is in addition
to the £68m we allocate to PCCs to locally deliver support services for victims of
crime, including for victims of sexual violence.</p><p>Moreover, in the cross-government
Victim’s Strategy, which we published on 10 September 2018, we made a commitment to
improve support for victims of crime, including by increasing the number of registered
Intermediaries, communication experts helping vulnerable victims and witnesses give
their best evidence at police interview and at court.</p><p>The Government also recognises
the importance of understanding the decline in the number of rape and serious sexual
offences reaching court and being charged. It is vital that we grasp this issue, which
is the Criminal Justice Board (CJB) has committed to a cross-government end-to-end
review of the Criminal Justice System’s response to serious sexual violence and adult
rape. We have established a sub-group of the CJB to oversee this review and continue
to engage regularly with specialist stakeholders and victim organisations to ensure
that the victim experience is central to our work.</p>
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