Opportunities and obstacles: The Rape Crisis Federation in the UK

From 1996 to 2003 the rape crisis movement in England and Wales was supported by a national organisation—The Rape Crisis Federation. This article tells the story of its emergence, its feminist principles, the impact it had at the national level, its links with other feminist networks within the UK and in Ireland and its demise following the withdrawal of state funding. In speaking out about the responsibility of the state to take action against sexual violence it forged a place for itself at the table of government and secured state funding. Whilst not dismissing the evident benefits that state funding can bring to women’s organisations, this paper offers a timely critique, utilising the Rape Crisis Federation as a contemporary example. Caution is required to ensure that closer involvement with the state does not result in exhaustion of resources, both human and material, or assimilation resulting in even less power for women’s groups.