Funding pressures could result in cuts to rape crisis services, centre warns

Scotland’s largest rape crisis centre has warned services are at risk of closure without “urgent and adequate” additional funding from Government.

Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis Centre (GCRC) said demand for its services has risen year-on-year since 2021, but it remains “trapped in a cycle of short-term, insecure funding”.

Last year the centre recorded more than 40,000 contact points with survivors – a 42% increase from the previous year – while 3,100 women and girls received one-to-one support from trauma specialists.

The youngest person to receive support last year was aged just 13, while the oldest was 79.

GCRC said rising demand is in line with an increase in the number of reported sexual crimes in Scotland, with a 3% rise reported across the country as a whole, and a 13% rise in the city of Glasgow.

It added the rise is also linked to the “increased complexity” survivors face in reporting a rape or sexual crime, navigating the justice system, and additional support they need in the face of court backlogs.

The centre said funding pressures are already having an impact, and it had to pause referrals to its Justice Support to Report service earlier this month until alternative funding could be secured.

GCRC director Claudia Macdonald-Bruce said: “For the fourth consecutive year, demand for our services has continued to grow, yet we remain trapped in a cycle of short-term, insecure funding.

“That reality speaks volumes about the level of care and dignity currently afforded to women and girls, not just in our area, but across Scotland.

“Survivors of rape and sexual violence deserve far better. The thousands of women and girls we support need a clear and immediate commitment from Government that services like ours will not just survive, but be properly resourced to meet the scale of need.

“The current funding model is simply not sustainable, but this isn’t new information.

“The Scottish Government commissioned an independent review of the services and funding to tackle violence against women and girls, and the phased recommendations were made more than a year ago.

“So far, the Government has failed to act and women and girls in our service area are paying the price.”

For 2025-26, GCRC said it has been allocated £549,483 from the Scottish Government’s Delivering Equally Safe Fund, plus £171,000 from the Victim-Centred Approach Fund to deliver advocacy support to survivors in the justice system.

Ms Macdonald-Bruce said to continue providing its current support and advocacy services, the centre needs an additional £500,000 next year across both funds.

She added: “Women and girls in Scotland deserve to live free from the fear or experience of sexual violence, but without urgent and adequate investment, we are being forced to consider difficult and painful decisions about the future of our services.

“We continue to receive disproportionately low funding compared to the scale of demand for our services, and that’s before inflation and rising costs are considered. Survivors are being let down by an unjust and illogical system.

“We stand with survivors and will do all we can to ensure that the right advice and support is available, but we need the Government’s help in ensuring that every woman and every girl who has experienced rape or sexual violence can access the help she needs to secure emotional and physical support, and the justice they deserve.”

Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart said: “We remain steadfast in our commitment to preventing and eradicating all violence against women and girls and addressing the underlying attitudes and systems that perpetuate it.

“We announced a £2.4 million uplift to the delivering equally safe fund for 2025-26, to allow all fund recipients to continue the vital work they undertake to prevent violence and support survivors, bringing the total investment to £21.6 million for 2025-26.

“The victim-centred approach fund now forms part of the Scottish Government Fairer Funding pilot, and will provide £32 million to 23 organisations between 2025-2027, including £12 million for specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence.

“Ministers are considering funding decisions beyond March 2026 and we expect confirmation of funding to be made as part of the Scottish Budget process.”

Published: 11/10/2025 by Radio NewsHub