The London mayor, Boris Johnson, has so far failed to come up with the money to deliver on his promise of three new rape crisis centres in London.
Only £233,000 a year was included in this year’s budget towards the centres. At least £744,000 annually is needed to fund the Mayor’s commitment.
The recent spring Green Party conference (last month, in Blackpool) demanded that rape crisis centres receive regular, reliable, core funding so that they can provide this essential service securely and permanently, rather than having to rely on volunteer fundraising and emergency appeals. Rape crisis centres across the country are, despite valiant volunteer efforts, failing to meet the need of new and past victims. 25% of local authority areas have no provision for rape crisis centres at all.
Jenny Jones, the Green Party's Home Affairs spokesperson, was only one of two Assembly members who supported an amendment to the budget in February which would have provided funding for all the centres.
Jenny Jones said: “If you promise something, you must jolly well get on and deliver it. There's a lot of back-tracking going on and a lot of women need these centres and need them immediately. Women in London have been let down by the police over the Worboys case and other investigations into rape. Now the Mayor is letting them down over his promise of more support.”
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Notes for Editors:
- Jenny Jones is available for comment
- In the London Assembly Budget Committee, held on the 16th of December, the Mayor stated that whilst he still intended to deliver four rape crisis centres in London. Only £233,000 has been budgeted for this project in 2009/10, with the aim of encouraging boroughs and other partners to fund a further £233,000. At least £744,000 annually is needed to fund the Mayor’s commitment.
- The text of the motion passed at Green Party spring conference in Blackpool, reads as follows:
"Green Party conference notes that the government this week announced 1.6 million pounds would be available for emergency funding for rape crisis centres at risk of closure, one fifth of the sum by which the failed banker Sir Fred Goodwin's pension was topped up."
"Conference notes that the Croydon rape crisis centre, which serves all of London, was able to answer less than one-fifth of the more than 28,000 callls it received last year; that the Norwich Rape Crisis centre is appealing for funds to meet the need for the more than two days of week service it is able to provide now, and that the Surviviors Network in Brighton has a waiting list of up to a year for its support group for victims."
"It notes that this vital service is currently not locally available in 25% of local areas in England."
"It calls on the government to properly and securely fund this service as a core part of basic social provision, while ensuring that the independent and feminist tradition off the centres is maintained."