Sally Hall reports on the looming funding crisis facing the Women's Centre and Rape Crisis Project in Brighton and Hove.

When Kate was raped two years ago, her world collapsed.

She couldn't work, could barely leave the house and constantly thought about ending her life.

Kate, who lives in Brighton, did not feel she could trust anyone to understand how she felt and had no idea who to turn to.

The day she saw a leaflet advertising the services of the Rape Crisis Project was the day her life started to turn around.

Now working again, and beginning to feel she can cope with the terrible memories of what happened, she said: "The project was a lifeline for me.

"I was so close to the edge and knowing there was someone there at the other end of a phone was sometimes what kept me going."

Kate, 32, was given one-to-one counselling and support through the project's helpline.

She said: "They really understood that women can feel like life isn't worth living after something like that has happened.

"A year later, they were still there for me when I bumped into the man who had done it to me. They have always been really supportive.

"At the time, I felt I had no value and that society thought what had happened wasn't important.

"That's the worst thing about the funding being withdrawn. Now it seems like I was right to feel like that.

"A lot of what I was fighting for was about becoming part of society again. Now I feel like I don't know if I want to be part of a society that could do this."

Last week, Brighton and Hove City Council turned down the project's application for £13,000 to run its counselling and helpline service.

Without the money, the project says it will have to close, leaving no comparable service for rape victims in the city.

Kate, is not the only one to feel angry about the city council's decision to withdraw funding from some of the city's major services for women.

Sheila McWattie, a volunteer at Brighton Women's Centre in North Road, said she was shocked the council was prepared to see the closure of such a crucial service.

The centre may not be able to continue running without the council's £7,000 grant, which pays for rent and helps support a creche.

Ms McWattie said: "The Women's Centre is the best point of contact for women who need to access other services. Without it, how can the city offer a joined- up approach?"

She said the centre was the first port of call for women who were victims of domestic violence, homeless women, women facing childcare and employment problems and those wishing to improve their education prospects and find out about lifelong learning.

She said other services it offered included low-cost counselling, a range of alternative therapies, access to computer facilities and a creche.

Lynn Gallagher and Karen Lennders, directors of the Rape Crisis Project, agreed the decisions meant the council was alienating the very people it had been targeting with its Celebrating Diversity campaign.

Ms McWattie said the council's own recent Single Regeneration Budget recommendations had included a proposal to secure funding for the Women's Centre so women in the city could build up a feeling of being "connected".

Both women also accused the council of prioritising arts and media organisations as part of a bid to attain European City of Culture status in 2008.

This is a view shared by Anna King, co-ordinator of the Brighton and Hove Community and Voluntary Sector Forum, which was also refused a grant.

She said: "Organisations such as Brighton Festival, Komedia and the Gardner Arts Centre have all received funding, while smaller voluntary organisations that perform a crucial role in the city have been refused.

One of the key criteria for the funding was tackling poverty and discrimination.

When we agreed on these criteria with the council, I thought the voluntary sector would be better served, not worse off.

"I am confused and annoyed about why this has happened."

A spokeswoman for Brighton and Hove City Council said close scrutiny of the figures showed the voluntary sector was no worse off than before.

She said: "The figures don't bear out any argument that the arts have been prioritised.

"Comparing funding levels for the different sectors between this year and last year, art, sport and leisure is actually reduced by 17 per cent.

"Funding for advice services has actually increased by 32 per cent and community safety, including services for women, has seen an increase of 57 per cent.

"Other services for women have had an increase in funding.

"The Women's Refuge Centre, for example, has seen its budget increase.

"There is £5 million going into the voluntary sector in Brighton and Hove.

"It does not all come from the council.

"There are usually other sources of funding available for most voluntary organisations."