
“ rape culture and victim blame in society, we still have a long way to go. She said that to reduce the number of cases, they need to take into account the number of ongoing attacks. Ms Thompson said CRASAC is busier than ever, with 35 staff available to support victims. The 58% increase in referrals to CRASAC concerns the period from April to September 2021 compared to April to September 2020.

In Covid, people weren’t going to people’s homes, so there was a slight reduction, however, the benchmarks absolutely bounced higher than they were. “The majority of sexual violence occurs in someone’s home.

She also said factors such as TV shows, soap opera plots and the Me Too movement all played a role in people asking for help.Īnd the victims of historical abuse are also manifesting themselves in increasing numbers: “Many people who contact us, for some it is recent, for others it is historical, it can take a long time for people to have the courage. “It’s normally influenced by what’s going on in the news, things like Jimmy Saville, that caused a spike, something after that about footballers, so all of those things allow people to refer.” Ms Thompson said they expect a slight increase year over year, but there are a series of factors that determine how many referrals CRASAC gets. “Ī 58% increase in referrals to CRASAC compared to this period last year is a worrying statistic, why did this happen?

in year and then we will have peaks at certain times of the year. Natalie Thompson of CRASAC explained that things haven’t been any easier: “If you look back over the past two years you can see that the numbers have steadily increased, the number of referrals has steadily increased from year to year. Read more Related Articles Read more Related Articles waiting.Įarlier this year, CoventryLive reported that rape and sexual assault victims in Coventry are currently facing a one-year wait for help. Read more: Heartbreaking images of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes hours before his deathĬRASAC CEO Natalie Thompson told CoventryLive that every year they see an increase, but factors such as lifting the lockdown have given opportunistic perpetrators a chance to attack.Ī recent report published by Rape Crisis England & Wales showed that the national demand for specialist services to support victims and survivors of sexual violence has increased by more than 40% since 2019 – with more than 10,000 currently on lists. Referrals to Coventry Rape & Sexual Abuse Center (CRASAC) have increased 58% this year compared to the same period last year. Coventry has seen a record demand for rape support, a local charity reported.
