Thousands of victims and survivors of horrific crimes could be forced to go without vital support services after a perfect story of funding cuts kicked in today
Thousands of victims and survivors of horrific crimes may be forced to go without vital support after major funding cuts kicked in today.
Victims’ support services are facing a perfect storm of slashed government funding, tax hikes and ever-growing demand. In December a 4.2% cut was announced to the Victims’ Core Grant, a funding pot used by police and crime commissioners in England and Wales to commission support for victims.
And on Sunday, the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs), which was set out in the Autumn Budget, also came into force. Victim Support, the largest charity affected, estimates it faces a 7% real-terms funding cut, which it said could amount to an effective £3.5million cut or losing 84 employees.
Victims who benefited from the help, which can include emotional or practical support, told the Mirror they don’t know how they would’ve survived without. Jade, who was raped in her mid-20s by a supposed friend, said it was the justice system, with “the disbelief, the delays, the dehumanisation”, pushed her to her “darkest place”.
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She said: “What sent me down a suicidal path wasn’t the violence itself, but the way the system responded to it. If I hadn’t had the support of victim services, I genuinely don’t think I’d still be here.”
Jade said she now fears for future victims and that “the pathway to justice will become too hard, too lonely, and too traumatising to walk”. “We can’t keep claiming to prioritise victims while stripping away the very infrastructure that makes justice possible,” she added.
Deborah, who along with her son suffered more than three years of harassment and violent abuse from a new neighbour and a gang, said they were “living under constant worry and constant stress and it felt like we were prisoners in our own home”.
She said she doesn’t know what she would have done without her case worker, who organised meetings for her and directly contacted the police on her behalf. “She actually listened to me and every time I heard her voice I felt safe. She was a safe haven to talk to and it was like chatting to a friend,” Deborah added.
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Martin, a man in his fifties who was viciously attacked by a man wielding a spade, contemplated taking his own life and now suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder from the horrific attack. But he said he can now move forward with his life after the “compassion” of his support worker.
“No matter what time of day it is, or how exhausted they feel, they would be there for you if you needed them and they do everything possible to ensure that you stay alive,” he said. “I am not a victim anymore because I’ve been given back my pride and quality of life from people like Victim Support who really know me. Our family will never be able to say ‘thank you’ enough.”
The cuts to funding support have thrown doubt over Labour ’s commitments on violence against women and girls. Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove said she fears many victims will drop out of the sometimes years-long wait for a trial without the right support.
“Victim support services are indispensable. They are a lifeline to victims during the most challenging time of their lives – providing emotional and practical support after crime,” she told the Mirror. “If no action is taken, many could be forced to shut their doors just as demand continues to rise – risking further erosion of an already fragile confidence in our justice system.”
She added: “Faced with rising costs and cuts to government funding, services have been forced to add victims to waiting lists, ration support, or withdraw it altogether. This has real consequences. For many victims, specialist support is what helps them stay the course and have their day in court.
“Without it, some may understandably feel unable to endure the long wait and withdraw from the process altogether. When this happens, prosecutions can collapse, offenders may evade justice – and the wider public is left to pick up the pieces.”
Victim Support CEO Katie Kempen: “We anticipate that thousands of victims and survivors of crime may now go without vital support as government savings are put on struggling charities.
“Closing our doors to vulnerable people who have experienced the shock and trauma of crime, including domestic abuse and sexual violence survivors, is the last thing we want to do.
“But we may have no choice. The government must boost its funding for victims’ services and ensure all victims have timely access to justice and well-funded, specialist support services.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “This Government inherited a criminal justice system under immense pressure and a black hole in the nation’s finances. We are making the difficult decisions to ensure we can deliver the justice victims deserve, through our courts and across the system.
“By protecting our support for victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse, we are ensuring help is available to survivors of these awful crimes as they seek to rebuild their lives.”
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