Liverpool to get new rape crisis centre

A rape crisis centre is opening in Liverpool, the first in more than a decade according to Liverpool Echo.

Given that we mostly write about rape crisis centres closing or being cancelled, it’s good to write about services being expanded for once. As the Map of Gaps demonstrates, women currently face a postcode lottery if they need access to services such as rape crisis.

The Echo reports:

Liverpool’s previous centre closed due to lack of funding in 1996.

RASA, which has taken more than 40,000 calls from rape and sexual assault victims since its inception, currently has 595 women on its books and 46% of their Merseyside client base live in Liverpool.

Jo Wood, of Rape Crisis Merseyside, said yesterday: “We were aware that we desperately needed someone dedicated to Liverpool and Liverpool premises.

“The Mersey is a huge barrier and the police advised us we would get further with Liverpool women if we had a Liverpool phone number.”

Ms Wood, who has worked for four years to secure funding, said she was delighted that they were finally able to open a centre in the city.

Although Safe Place, a Sexual Abuse Referral Centre (SARC), does exist in the city, its services are currently only available to people who have reported being attacked to the police.