Funding increase needed for rape crisis centers; their work is indispensable
The nearly four dozen rape crisis centers statewide offer survivors of sexual assault or abuse a lifeline and a glimmer of hope, but that could stop if the state doesn’t increase funding.
As we learned in the Friday, April 18, edition of the Butler Eagle, Pennsylvania’s budget to fund the 47 rape crisis centers statewide has been flat for five years. In that same period, inflation is at nearly 24%, and some costs have risen as much as 30%.
The centers have been doing a lot of work with that money. In 2024, the state’s centers served more than 26,000 people, and more than 6,000 of those were children.
That is clearly an essential and important service, and the fact the centers exist in the first place shows that the state recognizes that. Now the legislature needs to step up and fulfill the promise the rape crisis centers made.
Some centers have already had to cut back on staffing because inflation has increased costs, while others are losing staff to better paying jobs.
Kelsey Leigh, director of external affairs and strategic leadership for Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, pointed out funding for the centers has been around $12 million. The centers are asking the state to bump that to nearly $20 million.
“To us, if the state believes in the statute that survivors of sexual violence deserve 24/7, 365 response, we need them to put their money where there mouth is and to fund appropriately,” Leigh said.
We agree — the state needs to step up and continue protecting survivors of sexual violence.
— JK
