RCNI Press Release 01 December 2004

Santa Cowen does not exist for victims of sexual violence

The Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) today expressed its absolute outrage at the government’s neglect of the victims of sexual violence in Ireland. Minister Cowen appears to have done nothing to redress the effective capping of Rape Crisis services’ funding since 2001.

Fiona Neary, Executive Director of the RCNI, said ‘we are disgusted and frustrated by this budget’s impact on our frontline services. The sector has jumped through all the required hoops in order to satisfy the most exhaustive governmental departments’ criteria for funding. Yet it seems this is not enough! Again and again we have been told that we require dispassionate evidence and statistics to back up our funding demands. Well we have those! Ireland has had the SAVI report published since 2002. This report is such a definitive and authoritative study of the prevalence and attitudes of sexual violence in Ireland that we are the envy of all our European neighbours. I would ask the government why this report is not good enough evidence.

‘We have exhaustively costed our services. This costing demonstrates what value for money Rape Crisis services represent. They are good value for money because they are operating on a shoestring with no security of funding from year to year. Given that the services as a whole have seen no increase in funding since 2001 this shoestring is about to run out! We could not have made this position clearer to the government in our representations to them.

‘Frontline Rape Crisis Services are now very much in crisis, already services planned to meet identified urgent needs are being curtailed. As a result many victims of sexual violence, critically teenagers, are unable to access services.’


Notes:
• The RCNI is the national forum of Rape Crisis Centres, which provides a strong voice for survivors and is a catalyst for social change to end rape and all forms of sexual violence.
• The total statutory funding to the 15 Rape Crisis Centres of the RCNI was merely €2,818,488 in 2004. Our submission made the case for an additional €1,000,000 in order to deliver outcomes in service capacity which would have a direct positive impact on survivors of sexual violence.

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