Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) practical and (b) emotional support is provided to rape victims.

Karen Bradley

Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes which we remain committed to tackling. We have made protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims and survivors of sexual violence a key priority. A refreshed version of the previous Government’s strategy, A Call to End Violence against Women and Girls, will be published later this year.

We recognise the importance of specialist services for victims.

Since 2010 the Government has placed funding for rape support centres on a sustainable footing, and in 2015/16 is spending £4.7m to fund 86 rape support centres across England and Wales, including 15 new centres opened since 2010.

We have set up a dedicated fund specially to support male victims of rape and sexual violence, funding 12 male rape support centres, a support line and a website. We have also ring-fenced £1.72 million per year since 2010 up to 2016 to part-fund 87 Independent Sexual Violence Advisers who provide appropriate and independent support for victims.