A rape crisis centre faces crisis of its own

A dispute between Northern Ireland's department of health and Belfast's Rape Crisis Centre means the centre is facing closure. Some 100 clients could be left without support, writes Carissa Casey

Northern Ireland's only Rape Crisis Centre faces imminent closure following the withdrawal of government funding. According to Northern Ireland's department of health, which axed the centre's £60,000 (€91,000) annual grant in June, the centre has failed in its administrative responsibilities. The centre's supporters claim the department is nit-picking, with some going as far as to say the withdrawal of funding is part of a vendetta against the centre, an allegation the department rejects.

Without government funding, neither of the centre's two full-time counsellors have been paid since June, £17,000 is owed in rent and there is a sizeable telephone bill outstanding. According to director Eileen Calder, the centre's only hope in the short term is a potential £20,000 grant from Belfast City Council. The centre is also seeking a judicial review of the department's decision to withhold funding.

"We've about 100 or so clients on our books right now and this uncertainty is very traumatic for them. Some of them are in the middle of court cases and they need our support," she says.

Pearl Gray, chair of the centre, is responsible for its administration. "All our records are up to date. We have receipts for bus fares of £1.20. The department has known all along that we are amateurs in relation to administration and I have personally said I would pay for myself to get trained. They've never clearly told us what we need to do. There have been no clear guidelines given to us to resolve the issue," she says.

The row between the centre and the department of health dates back several years. The first serious attempt to cut funding was in 2002, during the last days of the previous Northern Ireland Assembly. The centre took its case to the Assembly and, in a rare moment of unity, the Assembly voted that the department should continue to fund the centre. Rape Crisis funding was nearly doubled from £35,000 to £60,000, but there is disagreement over the details of what the additional sum should be used for. The Rape Crisis Centre claims the department agreed to pay for an administration assistant on top of the increase. The department claims the increase was to pay for an administration worker.

According to Padraigín Drinnen, the solicitor who is preparing the centre's case challenging the withdrawal of funding, the £60,000 had to pay for two counsellors' wages, rent, electricity and phone lines.

"There wouldn't be much left to pay for an administration assistant," she says. "The department is nit-picking. For example, they say they'll pay the rent but not the VAT on the rent. They'll pay the wages but not the national insurance. The Rape Crisis Centre paid an accountant to do the accounts. The department says they weren't sent in triplicate and signed by two officers. The people at the centre wouldn't know that's what had to be done."

The department of health's permanent secretary, Andrew McCormick, says there is no concern whatsoever about any misappropriation of funds at the centre. "There is no evidence of anything fraudulent. I'm also prepared to say they are good-hearted people."

He says the issue is about control of public expenditure and that the centre has consistently failed to comply with required administration procedures. He says the centre has not prepared audited accounts but accepts that accounts up to 2004 have been submitted.

"Over the years we have provided business consultancy support. A consultant went in and worked with the organisation," he says. The relationship didn't work out and the required business plan didn't materialise.

"The organisation has had far more support, directly or in terms of consultancy support, than any other organisation. It's had warning after warning," he says. And he denies there is a vendetta against the centre. "It would have been better from my point of view to keep them in business. What do we get out of a vendetta?"

According to McCormick, the gap left by Rape Crisis, should it close, will be easily filled by other organisations. The department has stated that "most people who have been sexually abused or raped go to their GP, accident and emergency unit or the police". This is hotly contested by many experts in rape and sexual assault.

Graham McDonald is a consultant psychiatrist at Belfast's Mater Hospital who refers clients to the Rape Crisis Centre. "It's my view that many, if not most, victims of rape and sexual assault report to nobody," he says. "I believe it's essential for statuary and voluntary services to co-operate closely together to provide timely and accessible services to victims. I fear that the current difficulties will lead to people being left in need."

The service provided by Rape Crisis Centres differs from traditional medical models of counselling in that it is needs-driven, explains Fiona Neary of the Rape Crisis Centre Network based in Galway, which is actively supporting the Belfast centre. "We respond to what's coming through the door. If someone needs help with benefits that's what we'll help with. We also provide that crucial support when somebody is going to court."

Currently just 21 per cent of rape cases in the UK make it to court, according to British Home Office figures, and there are convictions in just six per cent of rape cases. Rape Crisis also provides on-going support to victims of sexual violence through the recovery process.

Dorothea Brown was sexually abused since the age of four. "It's the earliest memories I have," she says. She was referred to the Rape Crisis Centre in Belfast 13 years ago by her GP during a severe bout of depression at the age of 41.

"They gave me back my life. It was the first time someone told me I wasn't to blame. The level of support they gave me is absolutely not available elsewhere. I was using prescription drugs and alcohol to deal with the pain. It was really important knowing that they were at the other end of a phone line. Still today, 13 years later, it's really important to know that. I couldn't go to someone else now after this length of time. I couldn't face those demons again."