COVENTRY Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (CRASAC) will be attempting to raise over £10,000 in a week as part of Big Give’s Christmas Challenge.
The Christmas Challenge is a match funding campaign where donations to participating charities are doubled, with this year’s competition coming between November 29 and December 6.
The demand for CRASAC’s services has left the charity struggling to deliver help to all who need it, with the number of people waiting for support increasing by 350 per cent over the past five years while funding has decreased.
One in four girls are one in six boys will experience childhood sexual abuse, while 20 per cent of women over 16 go through some form of sexual violence.
The cash would go towards funding projects to help manage the impact of sexual violence and abuse on victims and survivors.
Thousands of local adults and children are helped each year by the charity, which provides specialist advocacy, counselling and psychotherapy, training, and prevention services.
Natalie Thompson, CEO of CRASAC said: “There are now 600 adults and children on our waiting list with many people having to wait up to 18 months to access our services.
“This project will provide the tools, support, and coping strategies to help overcome the state of limbo that survivors find themselves in while they wait to get the specialist help they so desperately need”.
