Rape Crisis Scotland

What Rape Crisis Scotland does

Rape Crisis Scotland is a registered Scottish charity (SC025642) and charitable company limited by guarantee (No. 258568), operating as the national coordinating body for sexual violence support services in Scotland. Its core service is a free, confidential national helpline available 365 days a year from 5pm to midnight via phone (08088 010302), text (07537 410027), email, and webchat, serving anyone aged 13 and over affected by sexual violence. The organization coordinates a referral network of 13 local Rape Crisis Centres across Scotland (covering Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling, Forth Valley, Fife, Grampian, Highland, and others) and provides multilingual support in Punjabi, Urdu, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Polish, French, Spanish, Slovakian, and British Sign Language via LanguageLine and Vimeo-hosted BSL videos.

Beyond the helpline, the organization delivers a National Advocacy Service supporting survivors through the criminal justice system, a Prevention Programme (including Equally Safe at School), and a partnership with the Scottish Women's Rights Centre providing civil justice support. Survivor-led governance is institutionalized through the Survivor Reference Group (2019–2025), and the organization has produced survivor-led resources including the SRG Podcast Mini-Series, Survivor Activism Zines, and the 'Imagine How It Feels' initiative. Public advocacy campaigns include 'End Not Proven' (successfully contributing to the abolition of the Not Proven verdict effective 1 January 2026), 'Survivors Can't Wait', 'I Just Froze', and 'Not Ever'.

The revenue model is a nonprofit mix of individual donations (processed via JustGiving and Easyfundraising), fundraising events, and Scottish Government grants, including emergency waiting-list funding provided in 2021. All services are free at the point of use. Technology is limited to standard nonprofit SaaS (JustGiving, EmailOctopus, Survey Monkey, LanguageLine, Vimeo) with no proprietary platform, no mobile app, and no public API. As of September 2023, over 800 survivors were on a waiting list for support, and 28 specialist support worker posts were reportedly at risk following the expiry of emergency government funding in March 2024. The organization is GDPR compliant and operates from Glasgow.

Name

Rape Crisis Scotland

Legal name

Rape Crisis Scotland

Website

https://rapecrisisscotland.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rape Crisis Scotland is Scotland's national charity supporting survivors of sexual violence through a free 365-day helpline, advocacy, prevention programmes, and a network of 13 local centres, serving anyone aged 13 and over.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Gender-Based Violence Support Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

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), Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

Keywords

• Sexual violence support
• Survivor advocacy services
• National helpline services
• Prevention education programmes
• Gender-based violence charity

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations via JustGiving platform, fundraising events, and Easyfundraising partnership. One-off and recurring donation options available.
2. Government Funding: Scottish Government emergency and core funding for Rape Crisis Centres. Emergency waiting list funding provided in 2021 to address service demand.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rape Crisis Scotland provides free, confidential support services to survivors of sexual violence in Scotland, including a national helpline, advocacy, and referrals to a network of local Rape Crisis Centres. It also delivers prevention and education programmes and campaigns for legislative and policy change to address sexual violence. The organisation is structured as a charitable company limited by guarantee and functions as the national coordinating body for the Rape Crisis movement in Scotland.

Product overview

Rape Crisis Scotland operates as a charitable organization providing a portfolio of interconnected support services for survivors of sexual violence. The core offerings include the National Helpline (available 5pm-midnight daily via phone, text, email, and webchat), the National Advocacy Service for criminal justice navigation, Prevention programmes including Equally Safe at School, and the Scottish Women's Rights Centre for civil justice support. The organization coordinates with 13 local Rape Crisis Centres across Scotland and produces survivor-led resources including activism zines, podcasts, and multi-language materials. Additional services include British Sign Language access, LanguageLine interpretation, and public advocacy campaigns on justice reform and prevention. The organization does not offer a traditional technology product but provides support services primarily through direct helpline interactions and partnerships with local centers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• National Helpline Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Free confidential support available 365 days a year
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• JustGivingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline fundraising platform partnership allowing donors to make one-off or recurring donations, set up fundraising pages, and sponsor events for Rape Crisis Scotland.
• EasyfundraisingsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership enabling donations to be raised from online retail purchases at no cost to supporters. Retailers including Amazon, eBay, Tesco, John Lewis participate.
• Scottish Women's Rights CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint initiative supporting survivors of gender-based violence in the civil justice process. Policy Worker role supports this partnership.
• Local Rape Crisis Centres (Scotland-wide network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of local centres including Argyll & Bute, Dumfries & Galloway, Edinburgh, Fife, Forth Valley, Moray, Orkney, Grampian, Perth & Kinross, Highland, Scottish Borders, Shetland, and Dundee providing local support services.
• LanguageLine SolutionssupportingTechnology or IntegrationLanguage interpretation services for helpline users where English is a second language, enabling support across multiple languages.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Respect (UK): UK charity running the Respect Phoneline for perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse, plus accreditation programmes for behaviour-change services. Adjacent in the GBV ecosystem with shared policy and survivor-advocacy concerns; useful comparator for helpline operating models.

Direct peers

• SurvivorsUK: UK charity providing specialist support for male and non-binary survivors of sexual violence via helpline, webchat, and therapy services. Directly comparable in sexual-violence-specific survivor support model and trauma-informed practice.
• Rape Crisis England & Wales: National umbrella body for the Rape Crisis movement in England and Wales; operates member centres, a national helpline, and survivor advocacy. Directly comparable in mission, service mix (helpline + local centres + advocacy), and survivor-led model — the only structural difference is geographic scope.
• Scottish Women's Aid: Federated network of local Women's Aid groups across Scotland providing support to women experiencing domestic abuse. Directly comparable as a Scotland-based, locally federated charity operating helplines, refuges, and advocacy — overlaps with RCS on GBV survivor support.
• Childline (NSPCC): NSPCC-run helpline and webchat service for children and young people under 19. Directly comparable on youth-focused (13+) crisis-support delivery model, multi-channel access (phone, text, webchat), and free-of-charge service design.
• Victim Support Scotland: Scotland-wide charity supporting victims of crime, including sexual violence, via a national helpline and local services. Comparable service mix (helpline + advocacy + local presence) and beneficiary overlap with RCS, though scope is broader (all crime, not specifically sexual violence).

Broad incumbents

• Refuge: UK's largest domestic-abuse charity running the National Domestic Abuse Helpline and a network of refuges. Comparable on helpline operations and survivor advocacy, but broader (domestic abuse rather than sexual violence) and much larger scale.
• Samaritans: UK-wide emotional-support charity running a 24/7 helpline across phone, email, and letter. Comparable as a large-scale, multi-channel, free crisis-helpline operator with similar volunteer-driven economics and data-protection sensitivities.
• Women's Aid (England): National federation coordinating Women's Aid organisations across England. Comparable federation model, helpline offering, and survivor advocacy focus, but oriented to domestic abuse generally rather than sexual violence specifically.

Emerging players

• Zero Tolerance: Scotland-based charity focused on prevention of gender-based violence through research, policy, and campaigning. Comparable in Scotland-only GBV focus and survivor/policy advocacy, but smaller and prevention-only rather than direct service delivery.

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/rapecrisisscot.bsky.social
• Facebookfacebook.com/rapecrisisscot
• Instagraminstagram.com/rapecrisisscot
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rape-crisis-scotland

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Rape Crisis Scotland