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Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre
Perth & Kinross
WRASAC P&K
ANNUAL REPORT
2008-2009
Support for women, young women and girls who have been raped or sexually abused at any time in their lives.
Registered Charity SCO37982
WRASAC is funded by the Scottish Government

COMMON BELIEFS AND MYTHS:
that some women lead men on by dressing or behaving ‘provocatively’
that women who drink to excess should take some responsibility if they become
victims of sexual violence
If a woman engages in some level of sexual intimacy, she has only herself to blame if
things go further than she wanted
that rape is a crime primarily committed by strangers & that married women cannot be raped by their husbands
Scottish Executive research (2007)
27% of people think a woman can be at least partly responsible if she is drunk at the time of the attack
26% thought a woman bore some responsibility if she wore revealing clothing
32% say there should be some burden of responsibility if a woman is flirting
18% think rape can be a woman’s fault if she is known to have had many sexual partners
Scotland has one of the worst conviction rates for rape in Europe, with new figures suggesting less
than 3% of rapes reported to the police lead to conviction (Scottish Govt, June 08)
These attitudes and the fact that women continue to be routinely asked questions in court about their sexual history and character are only some of the reasons which prevent women from reporting rape and sexual violence. At WRASAC P&K , the majority of the women we see have not reported the crimes committed against them for fear of being blamed, not believed and/or being questioned in court about their sexual history and medical backgrounds. These myths and attitudes serve to absolve perpetrators of their responsibility and prevent women reporting to the police.
Unite to end violence against women United Nations Secretary General Campaign
“It is a campaign for the women and girls who have the right to live free of violence, today and in the future. It is a campaign to stop the untold cost that violence against women inflicts on all humankind."
Violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their families and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence – yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned……………
Let us remember: there is no blanket approach to fighting violence against
women. What works in one country may not lead to desired results in another.
Each nation must devise its own strategy………..
…….But there is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures and
communities: violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable,
never tolerable.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Feb 2008
THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR RAPE & SEXUAL ABUSE
BACKGROUND TO WRASAC P&K
The WRASAC P&K was established in March 2007 with funding from the Scottish Government to provide support, information and advocacy for women and girls aged 13+ who have experienced rape or sexual violence at any time in their lives.
We have 3 paid staff members and 6 volunteers who provide regular support and assistance in running the Centre. Our services include;
Direct support to sexual violence survivors on a 1:1 basis and in groups, face-to-face and remotely using the phone and internet.
Support to family members and friends following disclosure by the survivor.
Training and resources for other organisations to enable them to better support survivors.
OUR AIMS
At WRASAC P&K we aim to relieve the distress of women, young women and girls who have been raped and /or sexually abused and of their partners, families and friends through the provision of emotional and practical support, information, advice and advocacy and; to advance education through the provision of information, advice and advocacy among professional bodies and the general public about the causes, nature, extent and effects of rape and sexual violence against women, young women and girls and ways of preventing or relieving the suffering it causes.
OUR OBJECTIVES
To provide face to face support to women, young women and girls who have been raped and /or sexually abused and to support their families, partners and friends.
To provide advocacy, information and accompanying services to women.
To provide a helpline to improve access to the service.
To provide telephone support out with helpline times.
To develop outreach services to women who are unable to access the centre for whatever reason.
To recruit and train volunteers to be support workers and to assist in the general running of the project.
To raise awareness within professional bodies and the general public of the causes, nature, extent and effects of rape and sexual violence against women, young women and girls and ways of preventing or relieving the distress it causes.
To provide Multi-agency training to ensure that women are receiving consistent responses and support across the key service.
THE NEEDS OF SURVIVORS OF RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE
Women who have experienced sexual violence often have an enormous reluctance to tell anyone what has happened to them for fear of being disbelieved, judged or blamed. They often have feelings of guilt and anger, suffer depression and anxiety, and feel crippling isolation. In some cases this will lead to self-harming and suicidal behaviour. Highly specialized support is needed to help them come to terms with what has happened, explore their options, and make appropriate choices to improve the quality of their health and lives.
Where the perpetrator is a family member or member of the local community, or where there are disability, mobility or transport issues, accessing help becomes very difficult. Support must therefore be provided at a time and in a place that is convenient and safe for the individual.
HOW OUR WORK CHANGES LIVES
As a result of the support provided directly and indirectly, women and girls who have experienced sexual violence can:
Feel less isolated, have improved self-respect and better quality of life.
Learn positive ways to cope with the effects of their experiences.
Learn how to deal with suicidal feelings and self-harming coping strategies.
Be empowered to make choices that will enable them to gain control over their lives.
Learn how to improve their personal safety and so feel safer in their communities.
Through training and resources developed, staff from other agencies and the public in general :
Respond more effectively to disclosure by women and girls of sexual violence experiences.
Provide better and more consistent support to women and girls following disclosure.
Be better equipped to challenge and explore attitudes which place blame on the victims of these crimes.
With our help survivors can deal more effectively with their feelings of distress and anger, regain their self-esteem, and learn how to take their lives forward.
All workers, paid or unpaid, must undergo specific rape crisis training before they are able to deliver support. Volunteer are recruited on a regular basis and this year 8 volunteers were recruited with 6 completing their training and induction.
We look forward to the coming year and further development of the service, campaigning to improve justice for women, young women and girls who have been affected by sexual violence. To achieving our aims and providing a service which is accessible and appropriate to survivors in Perth & Kinross.
Maggie McVean
Development Manager
WRASAC P&K 2008-2009
The Centre provided support to 60 women either through face to face, telephone or email support. The Helpline received 217 calls. From April 08 to March 09 there were 94 crimes of indecency ‘made known’ to the police. This figure includes 12 incidents of rape and 36 incidents of indecent assault. (Ref:Tayside Police Annual Report 08/09) Many of the women coming to the Centre have not reported to the police. Public attitudes and low conviction rates are two of the main reasons women fear reporting and our campaigns to change attitudes and push for change in the legal process will continue to be a priority.
This year, funding from the Scottish Government Survivors of Sexual Abuse Service Development Fund has enabled us to extend our service to support many more women than last year and to increase our helpline times to five days per week and two evenings. It has enabled us to grow as an organisation, from 1.25 to 3 staff which has meant development and support has increased considerably and we have been able to consolidate as a main provider of support to women who have experienced sexual violence and abuse in their lives. We have been able to raise our profile and as a result our referrals have increased by 35%. Unfortunately this funding comes to an end in September 2009 and it will be a great loss to us as it has clearly increased demand for this service. However, we have begun the process of seeking replacement funding to continue the good work and progress we have made.
Supervision and training resources for our volunteers was funded by Nationwide.
Funding from the Scottish Communities Fund and a donation from the Suzy Lamplugh trust gave us the opportunity to produce and deliver Personal Safety workshops for women in and around Perth. During the workshops we distributed personal alarms and anti-drink spiking stoppers and test kits which were funded by Scottish & Southern Energy. The workshops and safety devices proved popular and we hope to continue to offer the workshops in the future.
A high percentage of the women we support experience deep distress because of what has happened to them. This often leads to thoughts of suicide and self-harm, many will attempt to take their own lives. It is important that there is an understanding of why survivors of sexual violence might experience these feelings and why many use self-harm as a coping mechanism. It is also crucial that our responses to women who disclose these feelings and/or behaviours are consistent and effective. This year Choose Life funding gave us the means to develop and create two valuable resources; a Multi-Agency Training pack containing sections dedicated to these issues and a Group Support pack which provides the basis for supporting women who experience these issues within a group setting. Both of these resources will provide opportunities for WRASAC P&K to further support women and to help others to support them through an understanding of the devastating effects of sexual violence against women.
PARTNERSHIP WORKING
We continue to be members of the Perth & Kinross Council Domestic Abuse Forum which brings together around 20 agencies from the area including police, housing, criminal justice, health and other statutory and voluntary sector agencies working against violence against women and children. We also currently participate in two of the Forum sub-groups.
This year we participated in the 16 days of Action Against Violence Against Women, providing Personal Safety workshops; exhibiting the Rape Crisis Scotland ‘This is not an invitation to rape me’ campaign; the White Ribbon campaign and supporting the showing of plays by Naomi Breaze which were presented in the AK Bell Library and at Blairgowrie High School.
We had a very successful anti-drink spiking campaign in December in partnership with the Perth City Management and members of Pubwatch. Anti-drink spiking stoppers were distributed to the public in participating bars and clubs in the city to highlight the need to be aware of the dangers of leaving drinks unattended when on a night out. We also had a very successful awareness raising evening with the Perth Street Pastors, who took on the idea of providing stoppers to pub/club goers on their rounds on the streets of Perth.
Perth & Kinross has a population of 140,190 (2006) with approximately 65% of people living out with Perth City (2007). Perth & Kinross is becoming increasingly culturally diverse and has the third highest level of migrant workers in Scotland. Women and young women who have experienced sexual violence and who live within a rural/culturally diverse community will often face additional difficulties, for example, isolation, limited / lack of public and private transport. It may be more difficult to ensure confidentiality & safety. In partnership with the Perth & Kinross Council Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women Forum we host employed a worker to map the needs and gaps in services in rural areas for women experiencing gender-based violence. We look forward to the result of this research which will help us to establish the needs of women in rural Perthshire.
AWARENESS RAISING
The response to our distribution of 1,000 leaflets and posters to all relevant agencies was a 35% rise in referrals. This year we supported the very successful Rape Crisis Scotland campaign ‘This is not an invitation to rape me’ .Our participation in events across the year in partnership with other agencies gave us the opportunity to raise awareness to a wide ranging audience.
We aim to continue to raise awareness of the effects of sexual violence against women and to be involved in campaigning on behalf of women everywhere.
PRIORITIES FOR THE COMING YEAR
Continue to pursue funding opportunities to maintain and develop our service
Increase Helpline times
Deliver group support for survivors to include those who express suicidal intentions, and/or self-harm
Develop outreach services for women who have difficulty accessing our Centre
Deliver personal safety workshops for women and young women
Further develop partnership working with agencies who work closely with women and children
Develop the website to include links to other relevant sites
JULIA SMITH-MELVILLE—CHAIRPERSON
VOLUNTEER REOPORT
I have worked as a volunteer support worker for WRASAC for a year and a half now. When I first started a group of new volunteers participated in a 6 week training programme. The training was intense but a variety of teaching methods were used that ensured learning was interactive. Some of the issues covered were difficult and emotive, but it was a very open environment and we were all very well supported by the trained workers, and other volunteers.
After training all the new volunteers under went an induction period. The office environment was very friendly and straight away I felt welcome. During this period we were supervised by the trained workers. We learned about the day to day running of the office, and were given jobs to help out. We were given some additional training on a one-to-one basis to ensure we were then ready to start supporting women. This was supervised initially as additional support and to ensure that we were confident.
In the time I have been at WRASAC I have been given the opportunity to take part in a range of work. I have supported women in face to face sessions and telephone sessions. I have also co delivered personal safety workshops and been involved in information days. I have helped out with office cover when required. We also had a development day earlier this year where the volunteers and paid workers participated in additional training and we were rewarded for all our work with some fun activities.
REBECCA HAIN—VOLUNTEER SUPPORT WORKER
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Kate Falconer Secretary
Julia Smith-Melville Chairperson
Jo Armstrong Treasurer
Yvonne Dewar Vice Chairperson
Gordon McKay Honorary Member
THANKS
The Management Committee thanks the staff and volunteers for their commitment and hard work maintaining the service through challenging circumstances. Our appreciation goes to The Rape Crisis Scotland network for their invaluable support .
We are grateful to the funding bodies who have supported us over the past year.
FUNDING AND DONATIONS
Scottish Government Rape Crisis Specific Fund
Scottish Government Survivor Scotland Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse Service Development Fund
Perth & Kinross Council Choose Life Fund
Nationwide Fund
Scottish Communities Fund
Suzy Lamplugh Trust
Scottish & Southern Energy
We must also thank Perth & Kinross Council Community Safety Partnership and the Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women Forum for their support.
Copies of WRASAC P&K accounts for this year are available. Should you wish a copy please email info@perthshirerapecrisis.org
Telephone 01738 626290
Or write to WRASAC P&K. PO Box 7570, Perth PH2 1BY

Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre
Perth & Kinross
HELPLINE 01738 60965
DAILY MON-FRI 9.30am to 4.30pm
EVENINGS TUESDAY & SUNDAY 7pm to 9pm
PO BOX 7570
PERTH PH2 1BY
BUSINESS LINE 01738 626290
EMAIL: info@perthshirerapecrisis.org
www.perthshirerapecrisis.org
Registered Charity SCO37982
WRASAC is funded by the Scottish Government