Scotland's 'badge of shame' as rape victims wait 170 days for support
Victims are being ‘retraumatised’ by long waits for support, a group of rape crisis centres has warned
Waiting times for rape victims to access specialist support are a ‘”badge of shame’ on Scotland with women and girls left unable to access the care they need for 170 days on average, a charity said.
The Scottish Rape Crisis Alliance (SRCA) has urged ministers to invest long-term in services and create a statutory 30-day limit on waiting times for specialist support in cases of sexual violence.
The alliance includes four different rape crisis centres -covering Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Western Ises - which delivered 40% of the country’s support last year amid “unprecendented demand”.
Across the four centres, 384 women and girls are currently waiting for support, with the average waiting time 170 days and the longest 267 days.
Amid rising rates of reported rapes - which increased 11 per cent in the last year and 72 per cent on the decade, reaching 3,229 offences - the alliance predicted that the number of those waiting for support could rise to around 2,000 and girls by 2028.
The SRCA , who met with the First minister last week at Bute House, urged John Swinney to tackle the “urgent challenge" in the forthcoming Programme for Government, which will be announced early next month.
Meanwhile, Mr Swinney has pledged “personal leadership” on eradicating violence against women and girls.
Liz Curran, the head of the SRCA said: “A woman or girl who has been raped should not have to ask for help, only to be told to wait months for specialist support. It is a badge of shame on our society that we continue to retraumatise survivors through inadequate services.
“It is heartbreaking to tell a survivor that, after the trauma of sexual violence, she must wait months for the help she needs to recover and navigate what has happened.
“But it need not be this way. Scotland has the expertise and specialist services to support survivors. What frontline services lack is the capacity, investment and support from our politicians to meet growing demand.
“If Scotland is serious about ending violence against women and girls, it must be serious about supporting those who survive it. We need action now before projected waiting lists become reality.”
Analysis by the SRCA shows that, based on current increases in rape and sexual violence, at least 683 women and girls could be waiting for emotional and therapeutic support by April 2028, while up to 1,410 could be waiting for specialist advocacy support.
It also highlight the “changing nature” of sexual violence, particularly its impact on young people and the growing role of online and technology-enabled harm.
Scottish Lib Dem justice spokeswoman Yi-pei Chou Turvey said: “If ending violence against women and girls is to be more than a nice soundbite for the Scottish Government, John Swinney needs to help services meet this unprecedented demand and translate his words into action.”
Equalities minister Simita Kumar said: “Violence against women is completely unacceptable and the First Minister has given his personal leadership to tackling this issue.
“The First Minister met organisations working to tackle violence against women and girls, including the Scottish Rape Crisis Alliance, at Bute House last week to hear what actions will make the greatest difference, both in supporting victims and survivors and in preventing violence from occurring in the first place.
“A second discussion, with public sector organisations, to identify additional actions that can strengthen our national response will take place this week.
“Both discussions will directly inform the policy measures and legislative changes that the Scottish Government will bring forward in our Programme for Government.”
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