- Sexual abuse support centre launches new service amid funding cuts
- Flexible offer will enable more people to access the support they need
- In the West Midlands there is only one specialist support service per 20,000 survivors of child sexual abuse. Limited funding and capacity means this demand will not be met.
Following the difficult decision to close the counselling waiting list (to people over 13 years old) in February 2024, due to lack of funding, the only specialist rape and sexual abuse support centre based in Coventry, CRASAC (Coventry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre) are opening a new therapeutic service on 28th October 2024.
Despite receiving no funding from the Local Authority or the Integrated Care Board (ICB), the charity, which has been operating for over 40 years, has developed a new holistic offer where more timely support will be accessible by more people, particularly those who don’t want to access counselling but do want help to understand their feelings and learn how to cope with the debilitating impacts of trauma as a result of rape and sexual abuse.
Approximately 16.6% of adults aged 16 years and over (7.9 million people) have experienced sexual assault since the age of 16 years; 1.9 million were a victim of rape (7.7% women and 0.2% men). In Coventry, this is the equivalent to 45,650 adults aged 16 and over having experienced sexual abuse as an adult.
The Centre for Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse estimates that 10% of children in the UK have been sexually abused. This research suggests that 15% of girls and 5% of boys are victimised[1]. In Coventry, this is the equivalent to 6,830 children[2].
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) which includes crimes that are not reported to or recorded by the police, estimated that 1.1 million adults aged 16 years and over experienced sexual assault and abuse in the year ending March 2022 (798,000 women and 275,000 men)[3]. This equates to approximately 2.3% of adults (3.3% women and 1.2% men) having experienced sexual assault in a year including 140,000 rapes (0.3%).
That is the equivalent to 6,325 adults in Coventry experiencing rape or sexual assault each year[4].
Exposure to sexual violence has serious short and long-term consequences for a person’s health and wellbeing. It can impact a person’s capacity to participate in education, work, family and community life.
Experiencing sexual abuse can lead to negative mental health impacts including, distress, self-harm, suicidality, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance misuse, prescription drug use, and PTSD[5].
There is not enough funding/capacity in the system to meet demand. There is only one specialist service for every 20,000 CSA survivors in the West Midlands Region[6].
[1] Centre of expertise on Child Sexual Abuse: Key messages from research on intra-familial child sexual abuse 2023
[2] Based on the Coventry Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (2023) estimation of 68,300 children
[3] ONS 2021
[4] Based on the Coventry Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (2023) where it states that the population is 345,325 and estimated child population is 68,300
[5] Khalifeh et al., 2015; Oram, 2019; O’Doherty et al.
[6] Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse: Support Matters 2024
About Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (CRASAC)
CRASAC provides specialist support for adults and children who have been impacted directly or indirectly by sexual violence or abuse at any time in their lives. This includes online abuse and exploitation. We aim to address the trauma and injustice of sexual abuse and exploitation through specialist advocacy, counselling, training, outreach and prevention services.