Provision of support for male sexual assault and rape victims

The current grant agreement with Survivors UK is due to expire in March 2019. Provision has been made to further fund the service to deliver activities to support male survivors of sexual assault and rape for a further year whilst MOPAC reviews and realigns its sexual violence profile.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to agree the award of a grant of £26,000 to Survivors UK for 2019/20 to provide services to male victims of sexual assault and rape.

1. Introduction and background

1.1. The GLA Budget for 2016-17 confirmed that the GLA precept had been increased to make provision for the allocation of £26,000 per year from 2016/17 until 2018/19 specifically for the provision of male rape and sexual assault services. This additional funding was added to MOPAC’s baseline and will come to an end on the 31 March 2019.

1.2. The Police and Crime Plan recognises that whilst women and girls are disproportionally affected by domestic and sexual violence, men and boys can also experience these crimes. Therefore, the Mayor made a commitment to commission services to ‘support victims and survivors whatever their gender, and … also offer specific support for men and boys.”

1.3. MOPAC has allowed for specific male provision in the Victims Budget for one year whilst there is a review of sexual violence profiling in the Capital. The review will use findings from the evaluation of the sexual violence triage pilot, monitoring of the London Crime Prevention Fund co commissioned specialist support to LGBT and male survivors of sexual violence service and the recently devolved MOJ rape crisis funding.

1.4. Survivors UK are direct beneficiaries of two further partnership initiatives co funded by MOPAC; the sexual violence triage currently in year two of three years delivery and LGBTand male survivors service currently in year one of three years delivery. Survivors UK are estimated to receive £70,000 through the sexual violence triage and £60,000 through the LGBT and male survivors service in 2018/2019. Extending the male rape and sexual assault provision will align overall investment whilst both projects are in their mobilised and evaluation stages.

1.5. Section 143 of the Anti-Social Behavior, Crime and Policing Act 2014 gives the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime the power to award a grant to any person in order to secure or contribute to securing crime and disorder reduction in the police area and to help victims of witnesses of, or other persons affected by, offences and anti-social behavior. The grant may be subject to any conditions that the Mayor (or Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime) may deem appropriate

2. Issues for Consideration

2.1. Reporting of male rape is increasing, enabling specialist provision with appropriate funding will enable survivors to access the support needed to recover and navigate the CJS

2.2. The funded activities consist of tailored counselling sessions and blocks of group pyscho-educational programmes for male survivors.

2.3. MOPAC is continuing to invest significantly to improve confidence and support necessary to encourage more victims to come forwards to report sexual offences. This includes funding for Rape Crisis Centres (RCC) and London’s Sexual Assault Referrals Centres (SARC). The SARC provides crucial and immediate medical support to both male and female victims of rape and serious sexual assault.

2.4. The provision for male sexual assault and rape is an essential service to support survivors to cope and recover. Survivors UK are a nationally recognised organisation who have a prominent place in the Capital to support men affected by sexual assault and rape. Continuing funding for a further year will allow a continuity of service whilst a wider review of sexual violence profiling is undertaken.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. The three year Victims budget of £49,009,457 for 2017 – 2020 was approved in decisions PCD 174, Integrated Victim and Witness Services Resource Plan 2017 – 2020 and PCD 377, the review of approved the three year Victims budget.

3.2. The budget includes an annual budget of £26,000 for Male Rape for the three financial years 2017 – 2020.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. MOPAC’s general powers are set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). Section 3(6) of the 2011 Act provides that MOPAC must “secure the maintenance of the metropolitan police service and secure that the metropolitan police service is efficient and effective.” Under Schedule 3, paragraph 7 MOPAC has wide incidental powers to “do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office.” Paragraph 7(2) (a) provides that this includes entering into contracts and other agreements.

4.2. Section 143 (1) (b) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides an express power for MOPAC, as a local policing body, to provide or commission services “intended by the local policing body to help victims or witnesses of, or other persons affected by, offences and anti-social behaviour.” Section 143(3) specifically allows MOPAC to make grants in connection with such arrangements and any grant may be made subject to any conditions that MOPAC thinks appropriate.

4.3. The powers in section 143 were given to MOPAC following the Government’s response to the consultation Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses (2 July 2012) in which it set out a package of reforms to the way in which support services for victims of crime are to be provided.

4.4. The recommendations in this decision are in line with the legislation

4.5. Under MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation, approval of the strategy for the award of individual grants and the award of all individual grants (for crime reduction or other purposes) is a matter generally reserved to the DMPC (paragraph 4.8). The release of funding in accordance with the proposals set out in this decision form is accordingly to be approved by the DMPC. The delegation of responsibility for the finalisation of planning and contractual/grant arrangements, including relevant terms and the signing of agreements, to the Chief Executive Officer for activities to the value of £499,000 or less, is in accordance with the general power of delegation in section 5.

4.6. Officers must ensure that the funding agreement is varied in accordance with the provisions of the same, executing all necessary documentation, before any commitment is made to the provision of the funding proposed.

5. GDPR and Data Privacy

5.1 Through the management of this programme, MOPAC does not process, use or receive any personally identifiable information and therefore there are no GDPR compliance issues. All providers funded by MOPAC are required to comply with the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. MOPAC grant agreements require providers to demonstrate that

• They have undertaken a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) to identify, minimise and reduce risks to data subjects;

• They have met GDPR obligations to ensure the security of processing and will notify MOPAC of any data breaches as soon as they are identified;

• Staff processing survivor’s data are subject to duty of confidentiality and have taken appropriate measures to ensure the security of data held by their centres;

• Clients/Victims/Survivors who wish to utilise the Subject Access Request to data held by the centres are able to do so;

• They have a documented process in place for Subject Access Requests outlining how requests from survivors will be managed and how centres will ensure that a survivor’s identity is confirmed before data is shared;

• They can demonstrate why data on survivors is being retained, for what period it will be retained for and that they have received consent from a client/victim/survivor for the retention of the data;

• They will submit to audits and inspections and provide MOPAC with whatever information is needed to ensure that they are meeting their Article 28 obligations; and finally,

• They will immediately inform MOPAC if they are asked to do something which will infringe GDPR or other data protection laws of the EU or a member state.

6. Equality Comments

6.1 In November 2016, MOPAC published a needs assessment that it had commissioned in partnership with NHS England (London.) This considered the extent of sexual violence need and demand in the Capital and how this was being met by the services that MOPAC and NHS England (London) were commissioning. This needs assessment highlighted that:

6.2 Each year around 24,000 adults in London experience sexual assault ore rape;

Most of these victims and survivors are women (85%)

For both men and women, the offender is male in 99% of cases

6.3 Under s179 of the Equality Act 2010 as a public authority the Deputy Mayor/MOPAC must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act; and to have advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. Protected chrematistics under the Equality Act are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and marriage or civil partnership status (the duty in respect of this last characteristic is to eliminate unlawful discrimination only.)

7. Background/supporting papers

PCD 174