“The funding situation for organisations addressing men’s violence against women and girls is unsustainable and must change.”
Towards the end of March, we highlighted our Stand With Us fund, which was established with the funds raised by Reclaim These Streets in the wake of Sarah Everard’s kidnap and murder in March 2021 by a serving Met Police officer.
The BBC aired the documentary Sarah Everard: The Search For Justice, and BBC London produced extensive coverage to share how the money raised by Reclaim These Streets had supported abuse survivors through charities such as Ella’s and Maa Shanti. I spoke on BBC London Radio and one of the journalists responsible for the documentary, Frankie McCamley, interviewed me for BBC London News, which was filmed and featured in print.
In the TV interview, I emphasised that the Stand With Us fund received 10 times the number of applications than we could fund and the urgent need for increased and sustained funding for women’s and girls’ organisations working to address male violence against women and girls.
Sadly, Sarah’s murder is not an isolated event.
Last year, two women were killed by men every week in the UK. Cases of male violence against women and girls are rising, so many of the organisations that exist to support them are themselves battling rising demand and increased costs. This situation is unsustainable. These organisations require a funding model that enables them to thrive rather than merely survive. Funders and the wider philanthropy sector, along with central and local Government all have a role to play in driving this change.
Male violence manifests itself in women’s and girls’ lives in many ways; as street harassment, intimate partner violence including psychological, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, coercive control, financial or economic abuse, harassment and stalking, and online or digital abuse, to name just a few.
The depth and breadth of the work done by women’s and girls’ organisations working to address male violence cannot be overstated. They provide emergency help for women and children and a safe space to escape to. They offer unique and critical services, such as employment training, psychological and legal support, confidence building, and relocation help, such as with tenancies or finding new schooling, to help women and children to stay safe.
One of the points I felt it was important to raise in the TV interview was that it should not take the death of a woman such as Sarah Everard for vital funds to be raised for these organisations. It must be acknowledged that misogyny, sexism and discrimination against women and girls persist and that the women and girls sector needs consistent, regular and reliable funding to address the range of issues that arise from this. Funding these organisations must be top priority.
You can DONATE to the Stand with Us fund to support the crucial frontline organisations addressing male violence against women and girls.