On Friday 14 October 2016, Scottish Justice Secretary Michael Matheson announced that the Scottish Women’s Right Centre, a partnership project between Rape Crisis Scotland, the University of Strathclyde and the Legal Services Agency, would receive a significant increase in its funding by the Scottish Government with an extra £665,000 over 2 years.

The Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) was launched in April 2015 to ensure that women in Scotland who have or are experiencing gender based violence are able to access timely and appropriate legal advice and information. Women are able to call the new centre’s helpline for legal information and advice on any aspect of gender based violence.

The SWRC will employ a new full time advocacy support worker, focusing on the needs of the women who access the service, and the centre’s helpline will increase its hours to ensure that women have more options available to them to seek legal information and advice on any aspect of gender based violence.

Kate Laverty, Supervisor at the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic, said:

“The Law Clinic at Strathclyde is delighted to be part of the development of the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre. Women all over Scotland clearly need this service and our students are eager to help.

“Not only are they keen to hone their legal skills but they want to be part of changing things for the better for those experiencing gender based violence. Their involvement at this early stage in their studies helps to spread knowledge and skills in this specialist area of law and will have a huge influence in their future careers in law.”

More information on the SWRC can be found here.