By Laura Woodhouse | 20 August 2009, 12:48

There will be a celebration at the One25 centre in Bristol tonight to mark the opening of Bristol Rape Crisis, the sixth month anniversary of the opening of sexual assault referral centre The Bridge, and the success of local charity One25, which supports women engaged in street-based sex work. Organisers of Bristol’s Reclaim the Night will be presenting the proceeds of the event to the charities. Josie Hill, of One25, highlights the importance of the organisation’s work:

In the last year One25 has seen 134 violent attacks against women involved in street-based sex work, and the level of brutality involved is horrific. Rape conviction rates for this group are extremely low nationally, with only 1% of rapes against sex-workers in the UK ending in a conviction. It takes courage to come forward after such a traumatic event, and it’s important that the victims of violence have the support they need.

We’ve seen an unprecedented number of women finding the courage to report such attacks in the last six months, and this has led to convictions. In the last two months alone one attacker was sentenced to a nine year prison term, and four attackers have been arrested, with two already charged and remanded in prison. This is a fantastic result for the women involved, for One25 and for all the local agencies that have supported them.

We feel that the improvements we have seen in the last six months are worth celebrating, but also hope they will raise awareness of the problem of violence in our city.

Supporters are welcome to join in the presentation event at 6pm tonight at One25, The Grosvenor Centre, 138a Grosvenor Road, St Pauls, BS2 8YA.

It is still possible to add to the donation by visiting the One25 Just Giving page.