Roughly a week after the London Abused Women Centre (LAWC) announced that it could only maintain a support program for victims of human trafficking until late May after a loss of federal funding, the agency now says the generosity of Londoners will allow the program to run until June 30.
On Wednesday, LAWC executive director Megan Walker announced Londoners have raised $14,000 for the program, which helps over 600 women and girls who are victims of human trafficking. Throughout its lifetime, the program has helped a total of 3,107 trafficked, prostituted, sexually exploited and at-risk women and girls in London.
“We are extremely grateful to the community of London for its ongoing support of LAWC’s work. However, it should not be the responsibility of individual Londoners to fund these essential services,” Walker said.
“Nor should these life-saving services be provided on a month-by-month basis.”
LAWC, in addition to other organizations, was receiving funding through the Measures to Address Prostitution Initiatives (MAPI) fund, a five-year program that ended in March. Walker said organizations receiving funding under that program were told to apply to a new fund in October but after months of silence, finally learned they would not be receiving funding for April 1.
Source: Read Full Article
