There's a petition going on the oh-gosh-isn't-internet-technology-like-sooooo-cool online Downing Street E-petitions site to provide proper funding for rape crisis centres in the UK. Please sign it.
I'm a volunteer with my local rape crisis centre - twice a month I do a shift on the phone line. We can only open 5 evenings a week, and it's not always easy to have enough volunteers on the rota to cover everything. Our group has to spend a lot of time fighting for funding, and there's a lot of uncertainty over where it will come from and how long it could last. This makes it difficult to plan ahead and diverts alot of energy away from the whole point of being there - to offer support to women and girls who have been raped and/or sexually abused.
If you've ever thought about volunteering - I can highly recommend it! Not only do I feel good about being part of a support network in an area where there is very little support, but I have met many amazing women both in my fellow volunteers and on the helpline itself. Being part of the solution, no matter how small, is still better than ranting and hand wringing.
But I can't wait till we're not needed anymore.
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