The Home Secretary Theresa May and Justice Secretary Chris Grayling have announced an extra £7 million funding to help victims of sexual violence. The funding will run to the end of the 2015/16 financial year.
There has been a 40 per cent increase in child sexual offences recorded by police in the last two years. A £2 million fund will be available for organisations reporting an increase in referrals prompted by the Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry. All services which support victims of child sexual abuse will be eligible to apply for a share of the fund, with bids assessed against a range of criteria and allocated to ensure urgent needs are met.
In addition to this money, £2.85 million will be available for organisations across England and Wales which support victims of sexual abuse. This will be administered in parallel with the child sexual abuse fund.
Meanwhile, a further £2.15 million will be given to 84 existing Female Rape Support Centres on top of current Ministry of Justice funding.