Labour MP Charlotte Nichols knows firsthand the importance of sexual abuse support services, which she credits with saving her life.
The member of parliament for Warrington North revealed earlier this week that she was raped after an event she attended as an MP, and had to wait nearly three years for a trial.
She has called on her government to increase funding for support services for victims of rape and sexual abuse, and said the current lack of accessibility risks survivors never speaking out.
Ms Nichols’ brave intervention comes as Rape Crisis, a charity offering specialist services across the country, reported that 14,000 victims are currently on its waiting lists. In the last year, three of its centres have been forced to shut down, while another two-thirds risk having to cut vital services.
Speaking to The Independent, Ms Nichols said: “The services are completely essential. I couldn’t have made it all the way to trial without the support of my own independent sexual violence adviser, who, I think it’s fair to say, saved my life.
“I’m obviously personally aware of the issue, and it’s something that has been raised with me, both in terms of specialist support for victims who are under the age of 18, which there’s a real lack of, but also for adult survivors in my constituency, with some significant funding pressures for services.”
For those who are being turned away, Ms Nichols said she “can’t imagine anything more destabilising at a time when you are at your most vulnerable”.
Eve Gooder, 19, joined the call for more funding following her attempt last year to reach out for help after she had been sexually abused online as a child more than a decade ago.
It was the first time she had spoken about her abuse, and she thought it would lead to her finally getting support. But after being rejected by four different sexual abuse support centres that were under-resourced, she questioned her decision to reach out.
“It was a feeling that maybe I should have just kept it inside, or maybe I should have just not told anyone,” she told The Independent.
Disappointed and disheartened by the difficulty she encountered in getting help, Ms Gooder has launched a petition calling on the government to provide more funding for specialist services.
She said the barriers to getting support risk victims staying silent. “A lot of people like me may be shot down at the first hurdle and then stop, and then they have to deal with this trauma for ever.
“After I got denied by the third or fourth centre, I sat with myself and thought, this actually does need to change, because not only is it stopping people from getting the help that they need, but I do also think that it’s stopping people from ever reaching out to get the help,” she said.
“Other than having a stable support system, the most vital thing is having an independent person to speak to one-on-one.”
At least two-thirds of Rape Crisis centres could be forced to cut vital services soon, with more than half saying they expect to reduce their counselling services.
Victims’ commissioner Claire Waxman said: “Victim services are a lifeline for those recovering from trauma and navigating a justice system facing unprecedented delays. Yet these services are under immense strain – oversubscribed, underfunded, and in some areas, forced to turn victims away when they need help the most.
“These services are not a luxury – they are critical to victims’ safety, recovery, and access to justice. With crown court backlogs at record levels, properly funded support is essential to prevent victims from dropping out of the justice process.
“Ultimately, these services are crucial to a victim’s recovery, and they will be just as essential to the recovery of the justice system as a whole.”
Maxime Rowson, the head of policy and public affairs at Rape Crisis, said the sector had historically been underfunded. The charity has faced extreme uncertainty around its existing funding, with the government only notifying it at the last minute as to whether it will continue.
“It’s dire. We were on a cliff edge just before Christmas, where if we didn’t get the confirmation of the Ministry of Justice funding by the end of December, then our centres would have to start issuing redundancy notices,” Ms Rowson said.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed it would continue funding into 2026/27, granting £21.3m to support the services provided by the charity.
Ms Rowson added: “Funders are asking centres to cut to the bone the support that they offer, to make it so they can support as many people as possible, but not [provide] that intensive support that they need.
“We’ve heard of police and crime commissioners telling centres that they shouldn’t have any waiting lists, and they need to clear them, without any sort of additional funding or understanding of the issues and the demand.”
Sarsas, a charity that supports survivors across Avon and Somerset, receives around 150 referrals each month, and many of its services have waiting lists of more than two years.
Chief executive Lorri Weaving said: “We know that some survivors may not come forward or continue with support because of these delays. We recognise that our waitlists are unacceptable. Ultimately, what we’re facing is a funding crisis, amounting, in my view, to a national emergency.
“A consistent, long-term, cross-government approach to funding that matches demand is urgently needed so that local specialist services can provide sustainable, timely support for survivors.”
Police recorded a record high for sexual offences in the year ending March 2025, up by 11 per cent to 209,079. More than half of this increase can be attributed to the recording of two new sexual offences introduced in the Online Safety Act 2023.
The Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre in Guildford, which supports sexual abuse survivors aged 13 and over, is “massively oversubscribed and underfunded”, chief executive Daisy Anderson said.
“The lack of investment in specialist sexual violence services represents poor strategising on the part of the government. The estimated cost of sexual violence to the economy in the UK reaches hundreds of billions,” Ms Anderson said. “And yet, the [government’s] Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund, in its entirety for all of England and Wales for 2026/7, is £21.3m.”
Lee Eggleston, from specialist service Synergy East, said the government’s continued funding in December was a “relief”, but only sustained existing services rather than matching the rising demand, or real costs.
“Centres are still caught in a revolving door of competitive procurement, applying for oversubscribed and shrinking grants just to keep core services running,” she said.
A government spokesperson said: “Violence against women and girls is an epidemic, and we’re treating it as one. In December last year, we launched the VAWG Strategy – the largest crackdown on violence against women and girls in British history.
“As part of this, the government is investing £550m over the next three years in victim and witness services, and just this week announced a further £6m for a new scheme to provide rape victims with specialist legal advice through investigations and prosecutions.”
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)
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