This year, 26 groups and organisations fighting for gender equality in the UK will receive grants of £500 to £5,000 from the fourth round of Rosa’s Voices from the Frontline grants programme. Each organisation works in one of Rosa’s four pillars – leadership and representation, safety, health and wellbeing, and economic justice – and the grant will support their work in everything from campaigning for abortion rights to supporting BME victims of domestic violence.
These are the bold, brilliant women advocating for those who face intersecting disadvantages including race, class, sexuality, disability, poverty and migration status. Read on to find out what they’re all about, and why their work is so vitally important.
Economic Justice
Deaf Ethnic Women’s Association
Encouraging deaf ethnic women to take part in society and address economic injustice is central to DEWA, a national organisation run by deaf women from ethnic minority groups. The £5,000 grant will fund accessible, shareable videos with BSL and subtitled, designed to empower deaf women to make positive changes in their lives and speak out for fair pay.
Women’s Budget Group
The Women’s Budget Group monitors the impact of government policies on men and women, puts forward policies for a gender equal future and encourages women’s groups to participate in economic debates. The £5,000 grant will help to transform its research and analysis into digestible tools, paying for content creation that blends statistics with real women’s stories.
Women’s Resource Centre
As the leading national support organisation for the women’s sector in the UK, the Women’s Resource Centre strives to link up all aspects of inequality faced by women and girls. The £5,000 grant will support 600 members to launch the second phase of its tampon tax campaign, with a pack that will enable members to engage with local decision makers, MPs and the media.
The Growing Club CIC
The Growing Club CIC helps women to become more economically active and build sustainable businesses through training and workshops. With the £4,500 grant, the organisation will promote self-belief among older women and change societal perceptions through two days of multimedia workshops for women aged over 50.
The Motherhood Plan Community Interest Company
Motherhood creates myriad challenges for women in their careers — and the Motherhood Plan Community Interest Company plans to launch a campaign to create a culture shift in the way flexible working is viewed and implemented. The £4,000 will fund a petition, a video aimed at businesses, and a FlexAppeal flash mob with influencer Anna Whitehouse of Mother Pukka.
Health and Wellbeing
Girls Friendly Society
Since 1875, Girls Friendly Society has boosted girls’ self-esteem, confidence and emotional wellbeing through weekly group sessions. With its £5,000, the society will launch a campaign and training project in the North East to fight gender equality and increase girls’ aspirations. The grant will also fund a new Campaign Coordinator to help girls to amplify their voices.
Chester Sexual Abuse Support Service
Chester Sexual Abuse Support Service is a friendly team of women that helps survivors of sexual abuse feel safe and supported. The £5,000 will fund a campaign to raise awareness of sexual violence and the rights of survivors in the deaf community, through sexual violence awareness workshops and the creation of three short videos.
Alliance for Choice Belfast
Pro-woman and pro-choice, Alliance for Choice Belfast campaigns tirelessly for abortion rights in Northern Ireland. The group will use £4,750 to fund a video and workshop campaign that challenges the misinformation and stigma around abortion in Northern Ireland, with two focus groups developing key messages that will become the focal point of three short films.
Rivers LPC
Breaking down the barriers women face when asking for support — particularly for those who are excluded for health, language, social or economic reasons — is the core focus of Rivers LPC. Its Validating Voices project, funded by the £5,000 grant, aims to identify barriers and end the social stigma connected to BME women accessing support services.
Leadership and Representation
Women’s Voice
Run by and for women in Hastings and St Leonards, Women’s Voice aims to empower local women, encourage respect across all cultures and promote gender equality. With its £5,000, the organisation will develop an initiative and evidence-based report to highlight and remove the barriers faced by migrant women trying to access the NHS in East Sussex.
FTWW (Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales)
FTWW is a patient-led organisation for women and girls living in Wales who need practical advice, help and support dealing with their local health services. The £5,000 grant will enable FTWW to continue its community groups, lobby government to ensure women’s health is a priority area, and push for the new education curriculum to include menstrual wellbeing.
Excel Women’s Association
From youth projects to vocational training, Excel Women’s Association provides advice and support in Somali and English for women living in Barking and Dagenham. The £4,800 grant will fund a project to reduce the lack of representation of BME women in the local area, through practical workshops including public speaking, letter writing and self-confidence.
Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation
At the heart of the foundation lies the need to increase the involvement of Muslim women and girls without compromising religious or cultural values. A social media campaign funded by the £5,000 grant will launch alongside the foundation’s new all-star Muslim basketball team, helping to create strong female sports role models within the Muslim community.
The Happy Baby Community
From antenatal care to English lessons, The Happy Baby Community supports women who have fled from violence or traffickers, and are pregnant or with young children. The £5,000 grant will help to fund a national network of support for refugee and asylum-seeking women in the UK, including training for community representatives in advocacy skills and public speaking.
The Magpie Project
The Magpie Project supports mothers and children under five in temporary or insecure accommodation in Newham. With its £5,000 grant, the group will launch a grassroots activism project to challenge injustice experienced by families with no recourse to public funds. It will also fund training in parliamentary processes, advocacy and public speaking.
Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland
The organisation provides confidential counselling to women and girls over the age of 13 who live, work or study in Tyneside and Northumberland. The £5,000 grant will fund a project by RCTN’s activist group to raise awareness of the policing of women’s bodies in the North East, engaging with young women to create their own campaigns to bring about change.
The Empower Project
Supporting communities to end gender-based violence is at the core of The Empower Project, an intersectional feminist organisation with a focus on responding to violence and abuse in the digital age. The £4,640 grant will fund a mentoring and campaigning programme enabling marginalised young feminists to take the lead in challenging tech abuse.
Safety
Phoebe
Phoebe is a BME specialist women’s charity supporting victims of domestic violence, with a particular focus on migrant women who are newly arrived in Suffolk. With £4,800, Phoebe will launch a campaign comprising of a workshop series, information books and a conference, to raise awareness of the specific challenges faced by migrant women suffering domestic abuse.
Bright Futures
By working with young women in their communities, Bright Futures aims to build self-esteem around issues including education, sexual health, friendships and alcohol abuse. A grant of £4,800 will help to launch a ‘Future Hope’ campaign that addresses discrimination, physical and sexual abuse experienced by sex workers.
La Dolce Vita Project
La Dolce Vita Project is a therapeutic counselling charity that supports women impacted by domestic abuse, violence and sexual violence. It will use a £4,200 grant to launch a campaign targeting policy makers in Northern Ireland to bring in a parental alienation bill, and will support and train 10-12 survivors of domestic abuse to share their stories with policy makers.
Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire
Needs-led services including refuge accommodation, support and information are part of this group’s aim to support and empower women who are experiencing — or have experienced — domestic abuse. With £5,000 of funding, WASLER’s art group will launch a series of events to challenge harmful attitudes that devalue and endanger the lives of women and girls.
Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services
The belief that no-one should have to cope with rape or sexual abuse alone is at the core of Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services. The £3,110 will develop a project to tackle sexual harassment experienced by women in Devon, with informative and empowering workshops, a craft event and protest events.
BAWSO (Black African Women Step Out)
Since 1995, BAWSO has provided everything from training to temporary accommodation for those affected by domestic abuse and violence including FGM, human trafficking and forced marriage. The £4,900 grant will fund a campaign to ensure women with insecure immigration status have the right to domestic abuse services.
Baobab Women’s Project C.I.C
Baobab advises and assists women on immigration, health, financial and housing issues. Over the course of a year with its £4,920 grant, it will support a group of women to document their stories in a photo-filled book. Once published, the book will be shared with policy makers and the public to help tackle the injustices faced by undocumented women in the UK.
Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis Centre
With its £4,500 grant, Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis Centre aims to change how the media reports gender-based violence, ultimately encouraging more survivors to report abuse. Focus groups, research surveys, campaign videos and a media checklist will culminate in a launch event to promote the campaign and its findings.
Argyl and Bute Rape Crisis Centre
Language that reinforces gender stereotypes damages women and girls, and Argyl and Bute Rape Crisis Centre’s ‘As Good As Your Word’ campaign seeks to draw attention to it. Using £5,000 of funding, the organisation will create a series of films to illustrate the negative effect of sexist language, and in turn show how positive language can foster change.