The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign that calls for action to end violence against women and girls. This year, we’re using this moment to amplify the voices of our Member Agencies and highlight the urgent need for sustainable funding for specialist sexual violence services.
Update on government announcement from 2 December: Funding for Victim Services
The Deputy Prime Minister announced a major package of reforms to the criminal justice system, alongside a commitment of £550 million over the next three years for victim support services.
We welcome the Government’s recognition of the important role of specialist voluntary sector organisations, many of which have faced closed waiting lists or reduced services due to funding shortages.
This announcement follows strong, united advocacy across the sexual violence and abuse sector. We are proud to have joined others in highlighting the urgent need to stabilise services and protect specialist provision. We welcome the Government’s recognition of those concerns and the initial steps being taken in response.
However, much remains to be done. Many of our Member Agencies do not receive MoJ funding and continue to struggle to sustain services.
We also welcome the commitment to long-overdue criminal justice reforms. These changes will be most effective through continued collaboration with the specialist voluntary sector, drawing on our shared expertise and experience supporting survivors through complex processes.
Earlier this year, we joined forces with Rape Crisis England & Wales and We Are Survivors to publish an open letter to the Lord Chancellor, calling for urgent, multi-year funding to keep life-saving services open. These services support tens of thousands of survivors every year, many of whom never report to the police or access statutory services. Without specialist support, survivors are left without the care they need to heal and rebuild their lives. The letter received 83 signatures from specialist sexual violence and abuse support services.
Why this matters
Sexual violence devastates lives. It impacts education, employment, health, and relationships. And the cost to society is enormous. Research shows the lifetime economic cost of sexual violence and abuse exceeds £400 billion. Investing in specialist services not only saves lives but reduces pressure on the NHS, criminal justice system, and other public services.
For 16 Days of Activism, we launched a social media campaign to shine a light on this:
Every day, our member agencies deliver life-changing support to survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse with minimal resources. On a shoestring budget, they provide crisis helplines, therapy sessions, advocacy, and prevention work. They often have to rely on volunteers and patchwork funding just to keep doors open. Some member agencies closed this year, many have closed waiting lists.
This isn’t sustainable. Survivors deserve consistent, specialist care, not services that are constantly under threat. Imagine the impact if these agencies had proper funding:
– More therapists to reduce waiting lists.
– Dedicated outreach to reach those who suffer silently.
– Robust prevention programmes and campaigns to protect future generations.
Right now, creativity and commitment fill the gaps left by chronic underfunding. But passion alone can’t pay for safe spaces, highly-skilled staff, and long-term healing.
We’re calling on funders and policymakers: invest in the services that protect children and rebuild lives. Because the question isn’t what we do on a shoestring: it’s what we could achieve if we were truly resourced to meet the scale of need.
Specialist services aren’t a luxury, they’re essential for survivors.
Hear Me. Believe Me. Respect Me. (2015) is an incredibly valuable piece of research:
Among respondents who accessed both statutory and voluntary services, 72% reported higher satisfaction with voluntary sector support compared to statutory services. Their research highlighted the critical role of specialist, community-based service provision.
This is the kind of service provision that our Member Agencies can offer.
Survivors of sexual violence need support that is trauma-informed, consistent, and delivered by people who understand the complexities of abuse. Generalist services are not designed to meet these needs.
What funders often don’t see is the hidden cost of doing this work well:
– Highly trained staff who can respond safely and sensitively.
– Long-term support, because healing doesn’t happen in six sessions.
– Robust safeguarding and supervision, essential for both survivors and staff.
Every pound invested in specialist services translates into real impact: reduced waiting lists, improved mental health, and safer communities overall. Underfunding forces agencies to operate on shoestring budgets, stretches staff to breaking point and leaves survivors without timely help.
Funding specialist services isn’t just about keeping the lights on, it ensures survivors get the care they deserve.
It doesn’t save money if you fail to properly fund specialist sexual violence and abuse services, it shifts the cost elsewhere. When survivors don’t get timely, trauma-informed support, the ripple effects are enormous:
£12.6 billion every year across our healthcare, education, welfare and justice systems:
– Healthcare costs rise due to untreated trauma, chronic mental health conditions, and physical health impacts.
– Justice system costs increase as cases collapse because survivors lack the support to engage safely.
– Workforce productivity suffers: survivors often struggle to stay in employment without adequate care.
Research shows the economic burden of sexual violence runs into billions every year. Investing in specialist support is not just the right thing to do, it’s the cost-effective thing to do. Every pound spent on early, expert intervention reduces long-term costs and prevents re-traumatisation.
Policymakers need to understand: It’s not a net-neutral when you underfund our services, it’s expensive, harmful, and bites all of us later.
