|
No
lifeline for Rape Crisis and sexual abuse services
RAPE and
sexual abuse projects across England and Wales face an uncertain
future after Maria Eagle, the Minister in charge of criminal
justice, rebuffed requests for sustainable funding for victims of
rape and other sexual violence. The Minister rejected requests from
the Compact Advocacy Programme, based at the National Council for
Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), on behalf of rape crisis services,
as it was revealed that the Rape Crisis Centre in her Merseyside
constituency had not received statutory funding for core services in
21 years.
Jo Wood, Service Coordinator from the Rape Crisis Centre in
Merseyside said:- "For 21 years Rape Crisis in Merseyside has
struggled to survive without statutory funding, while serving
increasing numbers of women and girls in need of our services.
We
cannot plan more than a couple of months ahead, expand our service
safe in the knowledge that we will still be here to meet the
increase in demand, or offer staff more than six month contracts.
Right now we face the prospect of being reduced to an answer phone
service where messages are picked up if a volunteer is available to
do so.
If we do not get access to sustained, guaranteed, funding we
will no longer be able to offer the quality and consistency of
service women survivors deserve when all else has failed them."
Sarah, a woman who has used the services at Rape Crisis, Merseyside,
said:- "In January 2005 I started seeing a counsellor at Rape
Crisis in Merseyside.
What I learned is that at RASA everyone
believes you.
No one questions what you are saying.
No one tries to
make you say something you don't want to say or do anything you
don't want to do.
I have experienced first hand the total lack of
justice for women survivors within the criminal justice system.
Without RASA and the huge amount I have learned from the women that
work here I would still believe I had 'asked for it'.
RASA has taught
me that that is not the case. I didn't do anything wrong.
I am not to
blame and I can recover from this and move forward with my life
despite all that has happened."
Dr Nicole Westmarland, Chair, Rape Crisis England and Wales:-
"If Government is serious about providing support for survivors of
sexual violence, then they must provide the necessary funding.
We are being passed from pillar to post, with one Government
Department passing responsibility onto the next, Central Government
referring us to Local Government and vice versa.
The reality is that thousands of victims, having gone through hugely
traumatic experiences, will not have access to support as a result
of this fiasco."
Liz Atkins, Director of Public Policy at NCVO said:- "We have
been told that these organisations should apply for core local
funding, however, core local funding for rape and sexual abuse
projects does not exist.
The government signed up to fair play
with the voluntary sector as part of the Compact, committing to
three year funding and giving organisations adequate advance notice
of funding decisions.
This decision shows that the reality does not
match the rhetoric."
Many of the immediate funding problems relate to the Ministry of
Justice's Victim's Fund, which distributes over £1.25million to
charities, voluntary organisations and community groups working with
victims of sexual violence and abuse. Organisations, which are
already labouring under short term funding agreements, have had very
short notice that they will not be receiving funding.
Fay Maxted, Chief Executive of the Survivors Trust said:- "The
Government's own statistics reveal that there are 6.6 million female
and 4.2 million male victims of sexual violence and abuse in England
and Wales today, at an estimated cost to individuals and society of
£8.5 billion. Set against this is the Victims Fund of £1.25 million.
In reality, the Home Office spends four times the amount each year
on laptops than it has done on the Victims' Fund to secure essential
services for victims of sexual violence and abuse."
The Compact Advocacy Programme at NCVO took the case on after Rape
Crisis High Wycombe contacted them when they were given a matter of
weeks' notice of the end of their funding.
For more information on the funding crisis facing rape crisis
services in England and Wales, or an interview, please contact
Siobhan Wakely by
email. |
Liverpool hosts Raffles exhibition
A MAJOR,
national exhibition about the Briton who founded Singapore is coming
to Liverpool. The city is hosting the ‘Spice of Life:
Raffles and the Malay World’ exhibition, chronicling the
fascinating life and work of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
(1781-1826). It is the first time the prestigious exhibition of
manuscripts and drawings from the Raffles Family Collection,
recently acquired by the British Library, has been displayed
anywhere in the UK outside London.
Liverpool has been chosen to host the exhibition in recognition of
the work of the city’s Malaysian community which, working with the
British Library, has been instrumental in securing the collection
for the UK. It is a fantastic 800th birthday boost for Liverpool,
which has one of the oldest Malaysian communities in the country.
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, best known as the founder of Singapore,
was a passionate scholar of all aspects of the Malay world during
nearly 20 years in Southeast Asia in the service of the British East
India Company. He threw himself into the study of Malay language,
literature, history and law, his most special affection being for
natural history.
Visitors to the exhibition will be able to see a range of stunning
natural history drawings, books and letters collected by Raffles in
his lifetime. And they will be given a rare chance to see a first
edition of Raffles monumental work, ‘The History of Java’,
published in 1817, which made his name and earned him a knighthood.
The city council’s executive member for leisure, Councillor Colin
Eldridge said:- “I’m very proud that Liverpool has been able
to secure such an important and prestigious exhibition. It’s a
wonderful 800th birthday gift from the British Library as well as
our Malaysian community which has worked so hard to secure the
collection. In addition to being a prominent figure in the
expansion of the British Empire, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was a
brilliant scholar and a leader in the field of natural history. This
exhibition, which captures Raffles’ passion for the Malay world,
will give local people and tourists a rare chance to see his
fascinating collection of manuscripts and letters, alongside the
natural history drawings which were his greatest pride.”
The exhibition includes the earliest known drawing of Singapore,
dated 1823, an enormous coloured print of Rafflesia, the largest
flower in the world - discovered in 1818 by Raffles and named after
him - and Royal Malay letters sent to Raffles by rulers from all
over the Malay archipelago. These letters, written in beautiful
Arabic script, are important as works of Islamic art. Also on
display will be previously unpublished documents which reveal that
Raffles sent a specimen of Rafflesia to eminent Liverpool writer and
botanist William Roscoe, described as ‘Liverpool’s greatest
citizen’ and ‘founder of Liverpool culture’.
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles had close family connections with
Liverpool through his cousin the Rev. Dr. Thomas Raffles
(1788-1863), minister of Great George Street Chapel, Liverpool 1,
for 50 years, and one of the most influential non-conformist
ministers in the country at that time. Their long correspondence is
an important source on Raffles’ life and intimate thoughts
Dr Annabel Teh Gallop, Head of the South and Southeast Asia section
of The British Library, said:- “The manuscripts and drawings
in the exhibition reflect Raffles’ deep love of the Malay world and
passionate pursuit of knowledge. Liverpool was our first choice of
venue for the exhibition because of the unique Malay community in
Merseyside, and because of Raffles’ close family connections with
Liverpool.”
Raffles’ private collection was secured for the UK by The British
Library after a successful £1m fundraising campaign with substantial
support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Art Fund and other
donors. The bid was also supported by the Merseyside Malaysian and
Singapore Association and Liverpool Libraries and Information
Services.
Mr Wan Mohamed Rosidi Hj Wan Hussain, the Chairman of the Merseyside
Malaysian & Singapore Community said:- “This exhibition means
so much to the Malaysian & Singapore Community in Merseyside. It is
a golden opportunity for the community - including the elders and
younger members and the students and professionals who have studied
and settled in the Merseyside area - to see with their own eyes the
Malay heritage which has been well preserved for more than 200
years. This exhibition also shows the strong relationship
between the British and the Malays that has existed for more than
two centuries. I believe the Spice of Life exhibition will make a
valuable contribution to Liverpool’s 800th Birthday year and further
demonstrate the breadth of vibrant multi-cultural communities living
in Liverpool and Merseyside.”
The Raffles collection now open at the Liverpool Central Library to until Sunday 28 October 2007. Community workshops,
public talks and school visits will be also held at Central Library
to complement the exhibition during its stay in the city.
 |
