A SERVICE supporting vulnerable victims of sexual violence including those who have suffered female genital mutilation (FGM) and trafficking is at breaking point.

 

Rape Crisis Glasgow's (RCG) project for black and minority ethnic (BME) victims, including including asylum seekers and refugees, is seeing two to three new victims a week.

In the two years since the Ruby Project workers have seen more than 100 women.

Since the start of the year 25 women have visited and it is steadily increasing.

There are now two dedicated case workers - but they say they can barely cope with the demand.

RCG has seen a huge increase in the numbers of rape victims in general.

From April 2014 to March this year, the centre received 5011 calls or emails - an increase of more than 26% on the previous year.

Hanna Jedh, emotional support worker at the Ruby Project, said: "We have constant referrals. I don't think we could manage to do anymore at this rate.

"There's just such a demand for assistance."

Ms Jedh said it is difficult for asylum seekers to tell all the details of their violent experiences to Home Office officials.

She said: "They have to give dates and the time and they almost have to go into the mind of the perpetrator.

"They come to us and they just want somebody to believe them."

The team come across harrowing acts of violence, including FGM, where parts of a woman or child's genitalia are removed.

Claire Fuller, independent sexual violence advocate, added: "They can be told in an asylum interview that their tribe doesn't circumcise women, but they say: 'They do because it's happened to me, or it happened to my daughter.'

"It can be very difficult given the nature of the interviews."

The Ruby Project also deals with issues such as forced marriage and human trafficking.

Ms Jedh said: "I had a woman tell me she paid a man to help her and her daughter get to the UK.

"She said there were times she was thinking the man might be dangerous, that she thought they were going to be trafficked."

Ms Fuller added: "There are women who think they are coming here for work. Then they get here and they are kept in a room and forced into prostitution.

"They are vulnerable here as well as their home countries."