From England, the story of a rape crisis center that may have to close its doors due to the worsening financial situation.
There was a London rape crisis centre until about six or seven years ago that closed down when they lost their funding. They closed down without a blip of protest from the public. No one seemed to notice. It was very difficult to bring it to the public's attention. Who is interested in rape crisis centres unless they've been raped? It's a terrible situation.We need £250,000 a year just to tick over. The Home Office bailed us out last year with £63,000, and £1m was set aside for similar organisations across the country, but there is no long-term security. We have no stability. We survive only through these ad hoc grants, so we can't plan ahead. We don't know if we will still be here in four years' time. This is a tragedy for women.
This is a problem for similar non-profits and NGOs globally. These organizations usually work off of one or two year grants, meaning that there has to be constant time and energy put into fundraising. It's difficult to plan, or hire staff, when budgets are inconsistent.
As the financial situation has unfolded, we've already seen layoffs at many non-profits. Two national reproductive rights organizations that I know of laid off almost a third of their national staff recently. Some of these layoffs are preemptive, in anticipation of a more difficult fundraising climate in the years to come. Some are necessary for the organizations to survive and deal with budget shortfalls. The most difficult part is that as the economy continues to decline, public services are even more important. Rates of domestic abuse have been shown to rise when unemployment rises--often partners under stress from money issues take it out on their partners. Not to mention that more people lose their health care coverage and face food insecurity and homelessness.
My hope is that the stimulus package President Obama is working on will help to mediate some of these affects on the public sector, at least in the US.
Via The Guardian
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I work at a women's centre in Canada and it's the same situation. We work as a collective and each of us constantly has a grant or funding proposal on our desk. My position is only funded a year at a time. It's a huge struggle for our Centre to try and complete our daily tasks and then work on our proposals at the same time. Globally, something's gotta give. I think we're all expecting to have an influx of new clients with the way the economy is going.
This is a small point, but 'England', 'Britain' and 'the UK' are not interchangeable nouns and I wish American blogs would not use them as such. The Guardian is not just an English newspaper - I live in Scotland, and we have our own edition.
Yes, London is in England, but it is the centre of government for the whole of the United Kingdom, which comprises Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland. Britain comprises England, Wales and Scotland. The British Isles is even more complicated. But it is an important point. In this case, I think you should've written 'London rape crisis center' because it's just less confusing. Also, London is partially self-governed and that is the reason behind the cuts in funding, so 'London rape crisis center' would've been much more appropriate.
Aside from that rant on nationality, I'm glad you've drawn attention to this terrible news. The new mayor of London promised to keep this center open and has not lived up to his promises, choosing to spend the money on something else instead, and for that there should be plenty of outrage. Is there? Not really. Shows how sexist a society we are.
I work at a Rape Crisis Center and we are dealing with finanical cuts because of the economic stimulus plan.
No one really seems to care or notice.
That is really true. I'm so sad to know that. Well I'm looking forward that through the intelligent mind of every people in relation to business management we can really take back the economy. Rape crisis is widespread,how much more in small community? Are you familiar with the Hime Island?Hime Island is a living experiment in a kind of communism. There's a rigidly enforced degree of equality, of sorts. The mayor of Hime Island is democratically elected by consensus of the citizens, and he hasn't had a challenger in almost thirty years. The island took on the format it has held for over half a century in reaction to post-World War II poverty, which took a heavy toll on the Japanese economy. Quick payday loans were the least of people's trouble, death by starvation was more likely. Little has changed on the island since. There's little need for debt consolidation on Hime Island.