Funding & Commissioning
Who We Are
Rape Crisis England & Wales (RCEW) is the feminist charity working to end sexual violence and abuse. We are the national membership organisation for 36 independent Rape Crisis centres, all of whom provide specialist support to victim-survivors of sexual violence and abuse, across England and Wales. The RCEW Policy and Public Affairs (PPA) team works to raise awareness, influence and campaign on the issues facing survivors, and the Rape Crisis centres that support them. At present the PPA team has a particular focus on three key workstreams: the criminal justice system, funding and commissioning, and education. We would welcome a student to join us to assist primarily with work focussed on funding and commissioning, though work on other policy areas may also be required.
The Placement Project
Rape Crisis centres currently face a funding crisis. RCEW works closely with member centres to continuously assess the funding and commissioning landscape, and the impact on centres. The PPA team, along with other RCEW teams, work to influence funders and commissioners around the need to adequately and sustainably fund specialist Rape Crisis centres. This has been a key focus of RCEW work for several years. Whilst we have conducted extensive work on the matter, including consultation responses, 6 monthly reports, numerous meetings with Government and other funders/commissioners etc, we now need to strengthen our evidence base.
One of the key issues facing Rape Crisis centres is a lack of funding from Police and Crime Commissioners, who are increasingly opting to fund non-specialist sexual violence support services, and domestic abuse support services, over specialist sexual violence support services. Local authorities and Integrated Care Boards also hold some statutory responsibility for commissioning specialist sexual violence support services, however we know anecdotally that this duty is not fulfilled in many areas of the country.
To demonstrate the issues, RCEW sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all 41 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), 317 local authorities, and 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England and Wales. Various data was requested, regarding the funding provided by these agencies to both sexual violence support services and domestic abuse support services. RCEW wish to analyse the data returns and present the results in a standalone report, drawing out key points to highlight the funding crisis faced by specialist sexual violence support services. The student would be tasked with taking ownership of this project.
The RCEW PPA team is also currently working on several other areas of work, including: a new report on the backlog of cases in the Crown Court and the impact on survivors; a campaign aimed at ending the use of survivor ‘bad character’ evidence where it concerns previous disclosures of sexual violence; a super-complaint focussed on unacceptably long police investigations; the creation of guidance for schools to safeguard survivors where their perpetrator attends the same school. It is possible that the student will be asked to also assist on any of these workstreams, or others, in accordance with the needs of the organisation and the capacity of the student.
Deliverables, Intellectual Property & Data Use
The main deliverable will be a report on the funding and commissioning of specialist sexual violence support services in England and Wales, based on analysis of Freedom of Information requests.
This will remain the intellectual property of RCEW, though the student will be given credit for their work.
Any external use of data obtained whilst undertaking the internship must be discussed with RCEW in advance.
Learning & Development through This Placement
We want this to be a meaninful learning & development opportunity for the intern. The successful candidate will gain
- an insight into policy and public affairs at a national level for a membership organisation, primarily working with teammates at RCEW, but also likely coming into contact with various key partners and stakeholders, including government officials, sector colleagues and national and local commissioners.
- experience in teamwork and collaboration with various teams across our organisation.
- an in-depth understanding of the use of FOI requests in policy work.
The candidate will be welcome to join team training, but we will not be able to fund individual training and development.
Supervision and Collaboration Arrangements
The succesful candidate will conduct self-directed research with regular (likely weekly) catch ups with their placement supervisor. They will also have occasional meetings with external stakeholders as relevant and useful. They will be embedded within our small Policy and Public Affairs team but also work with with other teams, such as our Membership and Communications teams.
RCEW will cover reasonable travel expenses for meetings, including transport, accommodation and subsistence costs, agreed beforehand and on a case by case basis.
Vulnerable Users & Vicarious Trauma
We are a second tier organisation with limited direct contact with survivors of sexual violence and abuse. However, a DBS check will be required for this role.
There are risks to mental wellbeing associated with working in the field of sexual violence. We will mitigate for this risk with offering clinical supervision every six weeks, monthly supervision, weekly 1:1s with the placement supervisor, and regular close working with colleagues.
Additionally, the GUDTP expects the student to complete a risk assessment and follow the advice of their departmental health and safety officer. This might include a request for CUREC approval.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to sponsor the student for a visa covering the duration of the placement, if required.
Selection Criteria
We would welcome an intern with existing knowledge of sexual violence and abuse and the UK policy context.
Previous experience of working in the context of sexual violence/VAWG, and/or funding and commissioning would be beneficial but not essential, as the student will be closely supervised and supported by the Placement Supervisor.
Experience in research with qualitative methods is desirable.
How to Apply
Please submit your CV and a short cover letter (up to 750 words) in .pdf format by e-mailing placements.gudtp@socsci.ox.ac.uk. These should demonstrate how you meet the selection criteria and your motivation to undertake this placement.
Application Deadline: 20 July 2025
Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in-person/remotely by Maxime Rowson, Head of Policy & Public Affairs. This will be an opportunity to discuss how we could tailor the placement to your interests and see if we are a good fit for each other.
