I WAS so pleased to hear the news that more than £200,000 has been awarded to the West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre.

The women who are responsible for the vital and invaluable service that is provided across Herefordshire and Worcestershire do an amazing job helping victims of these horrible crimes come to terms with what has happened, counselling them and making them realise it was NOT their fault.

Because so often we hear - sometimes not spoken outright but implied - that it is the woman’s fault. ‘Well, she was wearing a short skirt and was plastered in makeup’, or, ‘she was happy to kiss me earlier in the night, I assumed she wouldn’t mind something more’.

It shouldn’t have to be said that because a woman is wearing a mini-skirt, high heels or a low-cut top, it doesn’t give anyone the right to go up and grab her or worse. She is dressing that way because she wants to, not because she wants to be touched.

These are things that shouldn’t need to be said but so often they do. Most women who go to bars, pubs, or clubs will probably have experienced being grabbed in a way they don’t like, usually when they’re in a crowd so it’s hard to tell who did it.

People need to stop blaming the victim and telling women ‘well you shouldn’t have been dressed so provocatively’ or ‘you know you shouldn’t have gone out on your own at night’ and start telling men not to rape.

This all seems so obvious that it feels silly to be pointing it out, but sadly to many people it isn’t.

It’s also brilliant news that the WMRSASC will be able to extend their services to help men and children. It is sometimes overlooked that men can also be the victim of such crimes, and although it is far more common for women to be, the outcome is still the same. Having something so horrible happen to you can change a person’s life forever, destroying them and sometimes their family and relationships too.

That’s why WMRSASC is so important - they help to put lives back together again.

For more on the centre's news, with details on how to get in touch with them, click here.