Extra government cash for Moray Women's Aid and Moray Rape Crisis to strengthen services in pandemic
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SUPPORT work by Moray Women's Aid and Moray Rape Crisis has been bolstered by extra Scottish Government funding.
The £4.25 million investment in projects across Scotland is in response to a surge in demand for support from women and children who are experiencing or are at risk of violence and domestic abuse during the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Marsha Scott, chief executive of Scottish Women's Aid, said the pandemic had given abusers more tools to control and harm women and children.
She added: "If faced with a second wave of the virus, this funding will strengthen the responses of groups and allow them to build on the progress they have made in delivering services remotely."
The payout boosts Moray Rape Crisis by £5,842 and Moray Women’s Aid by £12,517.
The cash is designed to help upscale services by employing more staff, increasing hours for centres and helplines, and improving IT, digital resources and training.
Moray Rape Crisis, set up in 2018, says the funds will boost direct support, which is still being delivered remotely by phone, online or text. Plans are being made to deliver safe face-to-face support for those in priority need.
The charity supports anyone, of any gender, from age 11 who has experienced sexual violence of any kind.
Sandie Barton, director of operations at Rape Crisis Scotland, said that when face-to-face support does resume they anticipate a significant demand on the service.
The Scottish Government has also agreed funding to employ a full-time advocacy worker for Moray Rape Crisis, and a sexual violence prevention worker has been funded to work with young people in schools across Moray looking at a range of topics related to healthy sexual relationships.
Sandie said: "We very much welcome the additional funds provided by the Scottish Government to Moray Rape Crisis.
"The funding of an advocacy worker for survivors of sexual violence who choose to report to the police is a much-needed addition to the team. We know this can be a challenging journey and having support throughout can make all the difference.
"The funding of a prevention worker working with young people across Moray’s schools in our evidence-based national prevention programme will be a real asset to the service, and we look forward to working in partnership with schools and young people with this exciting new development."
Melanie Wood, business development and funding manager at Moray Women's Aid, said: "Moray Women’s Aid welcomes the £12,517 funding from Scottish Government. This funding will enable us to increase the support available to women and children in Moray experiencing domestic abuse."
Melanie said the pandemic had incurred costs and the funding would help cushion this impact. The Moray team will focus on crisis prevention, looking at how they can best support women, practically and emotionally, through the Covid-19 situation.
Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie said: "The greater risks to women and children of domestic abuse with referrals to frontline services increasing during the pandemic is a major concern.
"It is atrocious that this is the case but we are focused on ensuring that frontline services can meet the increased demand for support."
