Women in ‘life or death’ situations will lose support without funding boost, rape crisis centre warns

The head of Scotland’s largest rape crisis centre has warned thousands of women in “life or death” situations, including those who have been trafficked, forced into marriage and are facing imminent danger, will be left with nowhere to turn if funding for support services does not increase.

Claudia Macdonald-Bruce, director of Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis Centre (GCRC), said women will be forced to stay in “horrendously abusive and unsafe” situations with no way out if rape crisis organisations do not receive the cash they need to keep services going.

The centre announced on Tuesday it had been forced to close waiting lists for two of its services due to a “real terms” cut to its funding for 2026/27- including its Ruby Service which supports ethnic minority women who have experienced rape or sexual assault.

Claudia Macdonald-Bruce, the centre’s director, said she had “lost faith” in the government to implement its commitments on tackling violence against women and girls | GCRC

“Through this service we often support women who have been trafficked or who are victims of modern slavery or commercial sexual exploitation, or who are trying to safely leave communities forcing them into marriage or FGM,” said Ms Macdonald-Bruce.

“These are really, really horrendous situations.”

There are currently 182 women on the centre’s waiting list, and Ms Macdonald-Bruce said it was “crushing” and “unforgivable” to keep asking survivors to wait up to a year for help.

She said up to 8,000 women across Scotland could miss out on lifeline support this year due to constraints on services - including 1,500 women in Glasgow alone - if additional support is not granted.

“We’re at the point where we’re no longer able to put any woman into our processes to be triaged,” she said. “They don’t even have the hope of being added to the waiting list.

“Where do these women go now? There’s nowhere else.”

Also at risk are the centre’s mobile hubs, which are positioned outside the city centre in places like Castlemilk so women who might only have “half an hour” of breathing space from their abusers can access support.

“The penalties will be huge for women seeking help and safety. These are life or death situations,” said Ms Macdonald-Bruce.

The centre said funding through Delivering Equally Safe (DES), the Scottish Government’s flagship fund for organisations tackling violence against women and girls, has remained “effectively static” since 2021.

She said the latest settlement amounted to an almost £4 million real terms cut compared to five years ago.

That is despite sexual crime being on the rise in Scotland, with official figures showing the number of recorded rapes and attempted rapes were up 11 per cent nationally in 2025.

GCRC alone supported 3,100 rape and sexual assault survivors in 2024/25 and recorded over 40,000 cases where contact was made - a 42 per cent increase on the previous year.

She said: “We know the dark side of what’s happening in our streets, despite the ministerial rhetoric of how well we’re doing as a country in terms of equality.

“What message are we giving to females who have been through this ultimate violation at the hands of men if they cannot get the help they need immediately?”

Ms Macdonald-Bruce said that despite her best efforts to prove the value of and demand for services, the latest funding settlement, which was confirmed in a letter last week, was the “worst case scenario”.

She said the centre urgently needed an extra £500,000 or it “would be on its knees”, while a £2 million uplift was needed to keep rape crisis organisations afloat collectively.

A number of MSPs from across the political spectrum have backed the GCRC’s calls, and speaking during a visit to Perth on Wednesday First Minister John Swinney said the government had now “engaged” with the centre over its funding.

He said: “The Government is providing extensive funding for rape crisis centres around the country as part of our work to ensure that women who experience and suffer rape and sexual violence are able to be supported and access the support they require.”

A separate government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government remains steadfast in its commitment to preventing and eradicating all violence against women and girls and addressing the underlying attitudes and systems that perpetuate it.”

“We are looking closely at the immediate issue facing Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis.”