Budget increase to tackle violence against women

Services to protect women and girls from gender-based violence will receive an extra £1 million this year with the launch of a £13 million fund.

The Delivering Equally Safe Fund – which brings together a number of previous funding streams – will support frontline organisations, with a focus on prevention and early intervention.

It comes after the budget allocation for equality and human rights received a £5.5 million boost to a record £30 million.

The Scottish Government has already introduced ground-breaking legislation that criminalises psychological domestic abuse and launched a range of initiatives to support gender equality in schools, universities, colleges and workplaces.

Minister for Equalities and Older People Christina McKelvie said:

“This £13 million fund will give frontline services an extra £1 million a year and shows how seriously we take erasing the terror and damage of gender-based violence from our society.

“Across greater legal protections, improving forensic medical services for victims of sexual assault and enhancing protections for those at risk of Female Genital Mutilation, we want to keep vulnerable women and girls safe from harm.

“Our record £30 million investment in equalities will help us create a Scotland where everyone is protected and violence, discrimination and gender-based inequality are consigned to history.”

Centre Director at Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre Caroline Burrell said:

“No survivor should ever have to wait to access lifesaving Rape Crisis support, yet too often this is the reality in Edinburgh and beyond. We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to funding Rape Crisis Centres and recognition of the importance of specialist support.

“Going forward we look forward to working closely with the Scottish Government to make sure that survivors are able to access support at the point of need. It is encouraging to see investment in both the frontline services and prevention work required to put an end to gender-based violence in Scotland, and ultimately achieve equality for women and girls.”

Background

Full details of the Delivering Equally Safe Fund (DES Fund) and how to apply can be found online.

The DES Fund brings together the current Equally Safe, Rape Crisis Specific and Violence Against Women and Girls intermediary funding streams. The process for applications has been streamlined. 

The fund is designed to drive forward the Equally Safe Strategy and organisations will need to be clear how their proposed work contributes to its priorities and objectives.

The fund can cover core costs and project costs, providing a greater degree of flexibility and security.