| answer text |
<p>Supporting victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse is an absolute priority
for this Government. All survivors are entitled to support to help them cope and recover
from their experiences.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice is only one of many funding
sources for rape support services. The Ministry of Justice provide funding to 91 rape
support services across England and Wales to provide independent, specialist support
to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse.</p><p>
</p><p>In 2020/21 rape support services received £12m (an uplift of 50% per funded
centre from 2019/20) in recognition of the extra demand placed upon them and to reduce
waiting lists. This is part of the £32m provided to these services for 2019/2022.</p><p>
</p><p><strong>£871,054</strong> has been provided in 2020/21 by the Ministry of Justice
to four rape support services in West Midlands (Black Country Women’s Aid, Birmingham
Rape & Sexual Violence Project, Coventry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre and Freedom
of Torture) including an extra <strong>£269,614</strong> provided during the pandemic.
For 2019/22 these four centres will receive <strong>£2,060,770 </strong>in total.</p><p>
</p><p>This is in addition to the <strong>£4,485,802 </strong>provided to the West
Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner as part of <strong>£68m</strong> allocated
in 2020/21 to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) across England & Wales, to
locally commission emotional and practical support services for victims of crime,
including victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse.</p><p> </p><p>In response
to the pandemic the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner was provided with
<strong>£911,066 </strong>in 2020/21 to support local sexual violence and domestic
abuse services.</p><p> </p><p>This provided funding to 14 local domestic abuse and
3 sexual violence support services across the West Midlands. This included 3 services
in Coventry.</p><p> </p><p>In recognition of increased demand, we have extended the
rape and sexual abuse fund for a further year (end March 2023) to provide the sector
with greater stability and continue to work closely with them to monitor demand.</p><p>
</p><p>Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) have an important role to play
in helping victims feel informed and supported at every stage of their recovery journey
and provide an important link between police, support services and criminal justice
agencies. As part of their role ISVAs may also support victims when attending court
and giving evidence. In 2020/21, <strong>£3,709,253</strong> has been invested by
the Ministry of Justice for the recruitment of 123 additional ISVAs across England
and Wales. Of this, <strong>£165,561</strong> was allocated to West Midlands to recruit
an additional 7 ISVAs.</p><p> </p><p>In recognition of the extra demand paced on services
the Ministry of Justice also announced in February an extra £40m in 2021/22 to support
victims:</p><ul><li>£20.7 million for local, community-based sexual violence and domestic
abuse services, helping to reduce the amount of time survivors have to wait for support.
Male specific services will see a 60% funding increase following a significant increase
in demand for support from men and boys.</li><li>£16 million to recruit more independent
sexual violence and domestic abuse advisers – increasing their numbers by around 400
meaning more victims of all ages can access this vital support.</li><li>£2 million
for smaller specialist organisations helping BAME, LGBTQ+ or disabled victims.</li><li>£1.3
million for remote and online services – allowing more victims to access support while
at home. £800k of this will go to Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors (FLOWS),
a digital tool that helps victims of domestic abuse to apply for emergency protection
from the courts.</li></ul>
|
|
