More incest victims counselled

Press, 25 July 1985, Page 5

More incest victims counselled

Increased public awareness of incest in the last year has resulted in an increase in incest cases handled by the Christchurch Rape Crisis Group. About 80 per cent of cases now handled by Rape Crisis counsellors involved incest victims, said one of the group’s organisers, Ms Maria Clare, at its annual meeting last evening. Most of those were adult women, and the rest were

aged between two and 17, she said. In the year ending in June, 211 victims of sexual abuse approached the Rape Crisis group through its 24hour telephone line. A total of 2245 calls were received also at the Rape Crisis Centre. These involved counselling of victims and relatives or close friends. Funding remains a problem for the group. In the

annual report presented to the meeting, it was noted that two full-time workers were funded through the Labour Department, and one part-time worker was funded by a grant from the Lotteries Board. The 24hour service was otherwise run by volunteers. A result of the formation of a national Rape Crisis Collective, organised earlier this year by the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Mrs

Hercus, was the receipt of $4500 for the Christchurch branch, from a national grant of $103,500. With the increase in use of the service, the group is seeking a large central Christchurch house to share with Women’s Refuge and be named a Women Against Violence Centre. A joint campaign has already raised $4OOO for the centre and it is hoped that pledges will raise more. The Rape Crisis service is now run from a two-room office. More funds were needed for more full-time staff, to

finance the increasing amount of public speaking by members, and to finance stickers, posters, and pamphlets which advertised the group, the report said. Donations had kept the group afloat. Women who use the Rape Crisis counselling service are now eligible for Accident Compensation Corporation reimbursement. The report said that the A.C.C. had approved the Rape Crisis counsellors, and would pay $25 an hour for a maximum of 10 hours a woman. If a woman was in need of further help, she could reapply.