- The pioneering Justice and Equality Fund managed by Rosa and supported by TIME’S UP UK, awards five new grants to women’s organisations on International Women’s Day
- The Fund is backed by film industry professionals including Andrea Riseborough, Emma Thompson, Emma Watson and many more
Friday 8th March 2019, London UK: Today, on International Women’s Day, Rosa – the UK’s only fund for women and girls, and TIME’S UP UK announce the latest tranche of grants awarded from the Justice and Equality Fund. Five women’s groups have been awarded £463,825 to address sexual harassment and abuse in the UK.
The new grants bring the total funding distributed to women in the UK to £1.77 million, with further announcements to be made. The five women’s organisations receiving funding are:
- Against Violence and Abuse (AVA) were awarded £99,294 and are focused on tackling sexual misconduct and harassment in universities.
- The Birmingham Rape and Sexual Violence Project were awarded £64,612 and are working in partnership with West Midlands Police and other community groups to prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence among the workforce to improve outcomes for all survivors of sexual violence seeking criminal justice.
- The Good Night Out Campaign were awarded £99,944 and will support the night time economy to better understand, respond to and prevent sexual harassment in London and Birmingham’s nightlife, focussed on the LGBTQI communities and supporting through training, policy and community advocacy.
- The Latin American Women’s Rights Service was awarded £99,995 for working in partnership with two grassroots unions representing migrant women workers in precarious employment to increase their capacity to prevent and respond to sexual harassment.
- The Women’s Resource and Development Agency were granted £99,980 and will work in partnership with a network of women’s organisations in Northern Ireland to challenge sexism and misogyny.
“No one should suffer sexual harassment or abuse in their workplace or community, which is why we are delighted to have been funded by the Justice and Equality Fund. We will work with IWGB and UVW, two powerful grassroots unions, to enable their members to speak up against sexual harassment at work. This grant will help us drive long term change and tackle the issues that migrant women in precarious employment have for too long faced.”
Lucila Granada, Director at the Latin American Women’s Rights Service
The Justice and Equality Fund was launched in February 2018 by a group of UK-based women from the entertainment industry coming together to challenge the culture of sexual harassment, assault and discrimination that persists across all industries and sections of society.
“For too long women and girls have faced barriers, from harassment and abuse at work to lack of representation in senior roles. The Justice and Equality Fund throws a spotlight on the issues that have previously been dismissed or ignored and challenges all workplaces and communities to ensure no woman is left behind.
Andrea Riseborough, acclaimed British actor, producer, and initial donor donor to the justice and equality fund
“This Fund is directly supporting women to call out the challenges they face, to arm them with the tools they need to tackle sexism, harassment and abuse, and to support them to reach their full potential, so that together we can create a more balanced society.
“We have the power and responsibility as storytellers to tell more balanced stories and that is why the industry needs to be more representative. That is why today I am announcing my commitment to the #4PercentChallenge – a commitment to work with a female director in the next 18 months, as only 4% of the top studio films are currently directed by women.”
“The Justice and Equality Fund was born of a desire to stamp out the culture of abuse and impunity around sexual harassment and abuse that has existed in our workplaces and communities.
Samantha Rennie, Executive Director at Rosa
The organisations we’re supporting today are preventing future harassment and abuse from taking place by raising awareness, supporting women to call out and challenge behaviour and working in partnership with allies to make work and social spaces better for all of us. It takes courage to stand up against injustice and the Justice and Equality Fund donors have done just that by showing solidarity through their generous gifts.”
Media contacts:
Rosa:
Alex Delaney
Alex@rosauk.org
020 3687 2745 | 07709 832 453
Time’s up UK:
Rebecca Ladbury
Rebecca@ladburypr.com
07941 224 975
Notes for Editors:
About the Time’s up UK Justice and Equality Fund
The Justice and Equality Fund is a unique collaboration between Rosa, the UK Fund for Women and Girls, TIMES UP UK and activists fighting against gender violence in the UK to help bring an end to the culture of harassment, abuse and impunity by resourcing an expert network of advice, support and advocacy organisations and projects.
Inspired by the campaigners of #metoo, TIME’S UP, Ni Nunca Mas, the #lifeinleggings movement and others, a group of UK-based women from the entertainment industry came together to challenge the sexual harassment, assault and discrimination that persists across all industries and sections of society – from media and politics to business and transport. The actors reached out to women’s activists, who’d been working on these issues for decades, and to Rosa, the only UK-wide fund for women and girls, and together, set up and launched the Justice and Equality Fund on 16th February at the 2018 BAFTAS.
With a £1m kick-start from Emma Watson, funds poured in to the crowd-funding site. Gemma Arterton, Kiera Knightley, Tom Hiddleston, Gemma Chan, Sophie Okonedo, Emma Thompson and scores of other actors followed suit, demonstrating their solidarity with those less able to speak out against harassment, through donations to the fund. So far, over 400 donors have contributed £2.7m million towards 41 grants, with further grant announcements to be made.
The fund has reached a diverse range of communities, both rural and urban as well as a cross section of women from many backgrounds. The JEF is supporting thousands more women in the UK, but gaps remain:
- Women of colour are still missing out. Their organisations are small and fragile and need more support.
- Government cuts continue to bite, more services are closing, and access to local help is a lottery for those who need it.
- Most grants are for one year only. Women’s organisations need longer term funding.
- New data shows that girls as young as eight are being groped and harassed in public spaces (Plan International research)
- Anti-harassment work is losing the spotlight (Fawcett)
Show your solidarity with women facing sexual harassment here: https://uk.gofundme.com/Justice-and-Equality-Fund
About Rosa
Rosa is the first and still the only UK-wide fund for women, with a mission to leverage gender equality and social justice. We mobilise resources, make grants, champion better funding for women and convene partnerships to tackle issues facing women and girls.
Set up in 2008, we’ve distributed over £3.5m in grants to almost 350 organisations run by and for women, led the multi-million pound Tackling FGM Initiative, published evidence of inequality and reports on the case for change, as well as running the innovative Voices from the Frontline programme to support activists.
In addition to funding, Rosa also provides step up support for women’s organisations through the mentoring programme, Inspire Together, and through a series of training webinars and grantee events.