A very generous, anonymous donor has kickstarted our fundraising activity for 2026, by donating £10k! Thank you so much for your kindness!
Because of this, from today until 6 Feb, all donations to Rape Crisis England & Wales via Big Give will be doubled.
Yes, you read that correctly: every penny donated to Rape Crisis will be matched up to £20,000, helping donors’ solidarity and support reach even more survivors of sexual violence.
This campaign is personal. Right now, our small award-winning Policy & Public Affairs team are fighting for a reformed criminal justice system, but we can’t do it alone.
In 2025, we released our ground-breaking report Living in Limbo, highlighting the Crown Court backlogs and the impact they have on survivors. At that point, 13,238 sexual offence cases were waiting to go to court - 66% higher compared to the number waiting at the same time in 2022.
We reported that the average time a survivor will wait for their trial being to be heard in the Crown Court, once their case is sent to the Court by CPS is 499 days (compared to 284 for other crimes) - but for many, this wait will be much longer.
But now we have updated figures that can no longer be ignored.
At the end of September 2025, there were 14,180 sexual offence cases waiting for a court date – a 77% increase since Q3 2022.
- 4,455 are adult rape cases – a 136% increase in 3 years
- 1874 are child rape cases – a 54% increase since Q3 2022.
Every single delay can have a catastrophic impact. Many survivors find they become re-traumatised. Some will withdraw from the justice process completely. Others have even attempted to end their life as a result.
Survivors deserve better, and we believe our recommendations are a step forward to the change that the criminal justice system needs.
Since releasing our Living in Limbo report, we’ve had a phenomenal response; The government’s VAWG strategy announced that Operation Soteria will be extended into the Crown Court, which was one of our recommendations in our report. But there is still much to do.
We urgently need your help to keep up the pressure, so we can continue our work to make further change, and ensure promises are kept.
This week, we’re urging supporters to show their solidarity with survivors, and donate through the Big Give. Every donation you give will be matched, meaning your impact will go twice as far.
The gift you give will help us continue our vital work supporting victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse, including influencing policy change at the highest level.