why women?

Women’s Resource Centre

• Capacity building, infrastructure body for women’s organisations

• Provide training, one-to-one support, policy consultations, act as advocate and voice for women’s organisations

•Primarily London based but move towards going national

• Over 300 members

• 40% BME organisations

Why women?

• 30,000 women’s organisations in the UK. They make up 7% of the voluntary sector but only receive 1.2% of central government funding.

• Changes in funding policy: move away from grants to commissioning and procuring services.

• Gender neutral policy.

• The Government needs to acknowledge that women are systematically discriminated against because of their gender, and recognise their expertise and essential service provision.

• The women’s sector is distinctive because it is often women-only, service-user led, uses a framework of empowerment.

The distinctiveness of the women’s sector

• High levels of peer-support

• ‘Pathways to employment’

• Women centred

• Women-only space: safety, confidence, supportive, empowering, better outcomes

• Economic impact

Poll results of women-only research

• 97% said it was important to have access to a women- only support service after sexual assault

• A choice of a woman professional for:

► 78% - counselling

► 87% - sexual and reproductive health issues

► 90% - reporting a crime of harassment, domestic violence or sexual assault

• 56% would choose a women-only gym

• 1 in 3 want women-only career training and sports coaching

Support the campaign

• Sign up in support today or on our website: www.wrc.org.uk

• Hold a film screening

• Write to local MP or counsellors

• Write to local or national papers

• Use rape crisis briefing to lobby for sexual violence indicators in LAAs.

30 Public Service Agreements (PSAs)

The crisis in rape crisis

• 30 new Public Service Agreements (PSAs)

• 198 National Indicators

• Most important for sexual violence services is NI 26: “specialist support to victims of a serious sexual offence

• Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs can choose up to 35 Indicators to include in their Local Area Agreements (LAAs).