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Rape Crisis National Service Standards

Our 2024 Rape Crisis National Service Standards (RCNSS) help to ensure that victims and survivors – no matter where they live – will receive consistent, high-quality services from any member Rape Crisis centre.

What are the RCNSS?

The 2024 Rape Crisis National Service Standards (RCNSS) are a set of specialist quality standards for organisations delivering sexual violence and abuse support and advocacy services from a feminist perspective.

They were developed by Rape Crisis England & Wales, in partnership with Rape Crisis Scotland.

To meet the 2024 RCNSS, organisations must be independent, community-based and trauma-informed. They must also demonstrate that they provide confidential, specialist services to victims and survivors of all forms of sexual violence and abuse from a feminist perspective.

First produced in 2008, the RCNSS have been developed and adapted over time to ensure that they continue to align with current best practice. They were most recently refreshed in 2024, with funding support from the Home Office.

Find out more about the RCNSS
Rape Crisis professionally approved logo with checkmark

About RCNSS Professional Approval

Membership of Rape Crisis England & Wales depends on centres meeting the RCNSS through our Professional Approval process.

The RCNSS Professional Approval process comprises a number of stages: membership agreement, centre self-assessment, evidence review, site visits and external assessment by an independent quality assurance panel.

RCNSS Professional Approval:

  • Demonstrates quality and specialism in every aspect of a specialist Rape Crisis centre’s service provision, including Independent Sexual Violence Advocacy (ISVA) services, emotional support and therapeutic services.
  • Covers work with all sexual violence and abuse victims and survivors who are eligible to access the services of a Rape Crisis centre, including women and girls, men and boys, trans and non-binary people, and children and young people.
A young woman sits in a chair while talking to an older woman who is a counsellor. The older woman is sat on a sofa next to the chair and is using a laptop on a table.

"The Rape Crisis National Service Standards are rigorous, robust and a structure which drives excellence in our centre."

A member Rape Crisis centre

Find your nearest Rape Crisis centre

Our member Rape Crisis centres provide free, local support and services for victims and survivors of rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse and all other forms of sexual violence.

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Contact our 24/7 Support Line for free emotional support.

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