New Fund to Tackle Violence Against Women and Girls

Comic Relief and the UK’s Devolved Administrations have launched a new £4 million initiative for organisations working to support and empower women and girls so that they can live safe and fulfilling lives.

The ‘Tackling Violence against Women and Girls’ programme is providing large grants to women’s organisations that are working to end violence and abuse experienced by women and girls across the UK.

There is a total funding pot of £4 million. Grants of between £60,000 and £120,000 for between one and years are available. It is anticipated that up to 40 grants will be awarded. Grants exceeding £120,000 may be awarded to organisations bidding in partnership with others. The funding can be used for core and/or project costs.

To be eligible, proposals must be exclusively focused on women with multiple and complex needs and aims to:

Enable organisations to better support women within the target groups.
Showcase how women’s lived experience can inform the design and delivery of services, practice and policy.
Provide opportunities for projects to try out new ways and models of working, for example by acting earlier, building community assets or using digital approaches.
Enable cross sector partnerships to work together to provide high quality support.
Support approaches that can provide learning for other organisations and stakeholders across the sector.
Improve access to support for women with complex needs in less well-served communities, such as BAMER, older women, LBTI, disabled women.

Applications will be considered for a broad range of work that demonstrates an understanding of the gendered causes of violence against women, and that tackles causes and/or consequences. This may be through preventative/early action measures, crisis intervention, and research and policy work as well as longer-term support.

Commenting on the new fund, Sue Wicks, Head of Investment at Comic Relief, said:

“We know that women’s organisations provide vital and specialist support to the many women harmed by violence, and are on the frontlines of efforts to reduce this violence in our communities, through work with schools, families, courts and the media.

“This new initiative will fund work to support women and girls who usually slip through the net, while also improving long-term awareness and support.”

Comic Relief and its partners understand that change happens at many different levels and is therefore interested in supporting organisations that work with individuals, other organisations, communities and society at large.

The deadline for applications is 2 July 2018 (midday).

Full details…