Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre

What Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre does

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) is a Scottish registered charity (SC006208) founded in 1978, delivering free, confidential emotional, practical, and advocacy support to survivors of sexual violence aged 12 and over across Edinburgh, East Lothian, and Midlothian. Its service portfolio comprises a core counselling offering supplemented by the STAR project for 12–18 year olds, the Student Survivors Project delivered across five higher-education institutions, the SIA (Still I Am) project for Black and minority ethnic survivors, a specialist learning-disability and neurodiversity service, a National Advocacy Service for those navigating the criminal justice system, and a prevention education programme for 11–25 year olds. Delivery is primarily in-person at its 17 Claremont Crescent headquarters with outreach in East Lothian and Midlothian, alongside remote channels (telephone, text, email) and a secure online webform for referrals.

The underlying operating model is human-intensive and trauma-informed rather than technology-led; no proprietary software, AI, or digital platform is disclosed, with technology limited to standard web/CRM tooling and the secure Egress webform for referrals. Specialist staff capability, built over 45 years and validated through Rape Crisis National Service Standards compliance and the Equality Act 2010 Schedule 9 women-only exemption, is the core operational asset. ERCC does not develop or sell software; its products are counselling hours, advocacy sessions, and education programmes.

ERCC is a non-profit and does not sell services. It is funded through a mix of Scottish Government grants, NHS Lothian funding, a multi-year National Lottery Community Fund award, individual donations (via JustGiving and Big Give campaigns), and legacies. All services are provided free to survivors, and pricing is therefore not a commercial lever. Goto-market is community-led and referral-driven, drawing survivors via self-referral, professional referrals, university partnerships, schools outreach, and the Rape Crisis Scotland national helpline, with fundraising activity forming the donor-acquisition channel.

Name

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre

Legal name

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre

Website

https://ercc.scot

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre is a 1978-founded Scottish charity providing free, confidential counselling, advocacy, and prevention education to survivors of sexual violence aged 12 and over across Edinburgh, East Lothian, and Midlothian.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sexual Violence Support Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Domestic Violence & Abuse Support Services (BPAGAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Protection, Child Protection & Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Response (BPAGAAAG), Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Legal Aid) (BPADADAH)

Keywords

• Sexual violence support
• Trauma counselling services
• Survivor advocacy services
• Sexual violence prevention
• Specialist counselling charity

Headquarters

HQ city

EDINBURGH

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations from individuals and organisations, including JustGiving platform donations. Fundraising activities and campaigns.
2. Government and Public Funding: Scottish Government emergency waiting list funding; NHS Lothian funding; Rape Crisis Scotland network funding
3. National Lottery Community Fund: Three-year £350,000 award from The National Lottery Community Fund to extend trauma and counselling specialist support services

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre provides free and confidential emotional and practical support, information, and advocacy to survivors of sexual violence aged 12 and over in Edinburgh, East Lothian, and Midlothian. Its core offering encompasses trauma-informed counselling, group support, art therapy, criminal justice advocacy, prevention education for 11-25 year olds, and specialist services for young people, students, BME survivors, and neurodiverse survivors.

Product overview

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre offers a portfolio of specialized support services for survivors of sexual violence. The core service provides free and confidential emotional, practical support and advocacy for all survivors aged 12 and over. This is supplemented by specialized programs including the STAR Project for young survivors (12-18), the Student Survivors Project in partnership with Edinburgh universities, the SIA (Still I Am) Project for Black and minority ethnic survivors, a National Advocacy Service for those navigating the criminal justice system, outreach services in East Lothian and Midlothian, a Prevention Project for 11-25 year olds, and a Leith-based counselling service with childcare provision. The organization operates under a women-only service ethos in compliance with the Equality Act 2010 Schedule 9 exemption.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Survivors report changed lives and ability to be present for their families
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.

• Women's Aid East and MidlothiansecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2022Co-released report 'Your Vision: Support for Young Women in East Lothian' on young women's experiences of unhealthy relationships and sexual assault
• YWCA Scotland - The Young Women's MovementsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2022Co-released report 'Your Vision: Support for Young Women in East Lothian' on young women's experiences of unhealthy relationships and sexual assault
• Edinburgh CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021New partnership offering trauma-informed, one-to-one support to students across Edinburgh College who have experienced sexual violence
• Edinburgh, Moray and Forth Valley Rape CrisissecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021The FEM Project - Tampon Tax Funded partnership piloting cross-region approach to violence against women and girls
• Dr Bell's Family CentresecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 October 2021Trial counselling service location in Leith for mothers and carers with young children, providing free creche facilities
• University of EdinburghcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2020Student Survivors Project partnership offering on-campus and remote counselling support to university students who have experienced sexual violence
• Edinburgh Napier UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2020Student Survivors Project partnership offering on-campus and remote counselling support to university students who have experienced sexual violence
• Heriot Watt UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2020Student Survivors Project partnership offering on-campus and remote counselling support to university students who have experienced sexual violence
• Queen Margaret UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2020Student Survivors Project partnership offering on-campus and remote counselling support to university students who have experienced sexual violence
• Sisters Uncut EdinburghsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 August 2019Event collaboration for Rising Free book readings and survivor voices events
• Rape Crisis ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational helpline partnership (5pm-midnight) providing short-term support and referrals; coordination of national Rape Crisis network
• Fuel Bank FoundationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide fuel poverty support for service users through Fuel Bank vouchers

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SurvivorsUK: UK-wide specialist sexual violence support charity focused on male and non-binary survivors; shares the trauma-informed counselling model and National Service Standards approach, making it a strong direct-peer reference for ERCC's inclusive service positioning.
• Edinburgh, Moray and Forth Valley Rape Crisis: Regional peer delivering the same trauma-informed counselling and support services across neighbouring Scottish regions; partners with ERCC on the Tampon Tax-funded FEM Project, indicating near-identical service model and overlapping funder base.
• Glasgow Rape Crisis Centre: The first Rape Crisis Centre in Scotland (founded 1978), providing an identical model of free, confidential support to survivors of sexual violence in Glasgow - the most direct functional peer of ERCC.
• Scottish Women's Rights Centre: Provides free legal advice and advocacy to women in Scotland affected by gender-based violence - directly comparable in mission, target population, and delivery of free trauma-informed support services.
• Women's Aid East and Midlothian: Co-produced the 'Your Vision' report with ERCC and provides overlapping gender-based violence support in the same East/Midlothian geography - directly comparable in mission, target population, and service mix.
• Rape Crisis Scotland: National umbrella network coordinating Scotland's Rape Crisis Centres; directly comparable as the coordinating body of which ERCC is a member centre and via which the national helpline routes survivors to ERCC.

Broad incumbents

• Victim Support Scotland: Larger national charity providing broader victim support services including criminal justice advocacy - an adjacent peer that competes for the same pool of Scottish Government victim-survivor funding.
• NHS Lothian Psychological Therapies Service: Statutory provider of mental health and trauma therapy across the Lothians; both a partner (funding the Assistant Centre Director role) and a broad incumbent whose specialist trauma pathways overlap with ERCC's counselling services.

Emerging players

• Abused Men in Scotland (AMIS): Smaller Scottish charity supporting male survivors of abuse; addresses a segment of the survivor population that ERCC also serves but with less specialisation, making it an emerging-niche peer in the same service category.

Regional players

• Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre (Dundee): Regional peer providing equivalent sexual violence counselling and advocacy services in Tayside under the same national Rape Crisis standards framework - comparable in model but operating in a non-overlapping geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/edinburgh-rape-crisis-centre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre