Mayor announces new additional £3 million fund for grassroots organisations tackling violence against women and girls in London
- New £3 million funding boost to support projects delivering vital services for women and girls – including those experiencing domestic abuse and sexual violence
- The funding is part of the Mayor’s record £117m investment to tackle violence against women and girls
- Action comes amid concerns from charities that the cost-of-living crisis is making it difficult for women to escape from their abusers
- New investment will help those most in need and marks second stage of the Mayor’s Violence Against Women and Girls Grassroots Fund which is funding projects across London
- Mayor visits Kiran Support Services in Waltham Forest to see how the grants from City Hall are helping small grassroots projects across London
- Applications for the latest round of grants of up to £100,000 is now open and the Mayor is calling on grassroots groups across the capital to apply
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a new £3 million funding boost to support projects delivering vital services for women and girls experiencing domestic abuse and sexual violence.
At a visit to Kiran Support Services in Waltham Forest, a small grassroots charity supported by City Hall funding, Sadiq marked the second stage of the Mayor’s Violence Against Women and Girls Grassroots Fund[1], which is working to support organisations focused on ending violence against women and girls in minoritised and marginalised communities.
The investment is part of the Mayor’s dedicated and targeted action to support local community organisations who are working with women and girls from Black, Asian and minority-ethnic communities and other minoritised groups, including the LGBTQ+ community.
The action comes amid concerns from charities that the cost-of-living crisis is making it difficult for women to escape from their abusers[2], with women forced to choose between staying in an abusive situation or facing financial hardship.
The latest round of grants to help those most in need is open, bringing the Mayor’s total support for these grassroots groups to £6million. It will help up to 45 projects across London to provide thousands of more women, girls and families with a wide range of vital support, including counselling, safe accommodation and legal advice. This is part of the Mayor’s ongoing public health approach to tackling violence against women and girls.
Applications for a two-year grant of up to £100,000 for individual organisations are open until the end of this month and the Mayor is calling on grassroots projects across London to apply via the London Community Foundation website[3].
The Mayor’s grassroots fund has already supported more than 40 projects since 2020, benefitting over 30,000 Londoners in need[4].
The funding is part of the Mayor’s record £117m investment to tackle violence against women and girls, which is working to save lives, address waiting lists and keep doors open for vital specialist support services for victims during the cost-of-living crisis.
Today the Mayor visited Kiran Support in Waltham Forest to see how the grants from City Hall are helping small grassroots projects across London to continue delivering vital services for vulnerable women, girls and families.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The rising cost of living is having an unprecedented impact on women and children experiencing domestic abuse and on the life-saving services they need. Local grassroots services know their communities and are best placed to help, but they need support to survive these challenging times.
“That’s why today I’ve announced a further £3m in new funding to help small, grassroots organisations to provide vital services for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, including safe accommodation, counselling and legal advice.
“As we continue to work together to build a safer London for everyone, I’m determined to do everything I can to help these organisations support more women and girls. But we also need the Government to follow City Hall’s lead and provide more funding for the groups best placed to help those most in need.”
Kate Markey, Chief Executive, London Community Foundation, said: “Dynamics related to poverty, race, culture, community, religion, and language mean women’s experiences and the challenges they face in our city are layered, with many being marginalised, unable to access the same opportunities as others. The Violence Against Women and Girls Grassroots Fund was ground-breaking because it recognised, valued and supported grassroots organisations working with survivors from minoritised communities. It has been an honour to work in partnership with the Mayor and the Mayors Office for Police and Crime and the 41 specialist grassroots organisations to deliver this vital fund.”
Amtal Rana, CEO of Kiran Support Services, said: “The London Community Foundation MOPAC VAWG Grassroots Funding that Kiran received in 2021-2023 was critical to our charity in helping us to sustain our community outreach service for South Asian women and girls who are survivors of VAWG. Kiran is a grassroots charity, run by South Asian women for South Asian women, providing a lifeline to vulnerable and marginalised women.
“The grant enabled us to support 718 women between August 2021 – March 2023. Without this grant these women would have been signposted to generic services which offer limited support and have a lack of understanding of the complex intersectional needs of South Asian women. Many of these women would have returned to abusive households as their needs would not have been met. We are a small charity reliant on voluntary income and grants, and it meant a huge amount to us to be recognised by the VAWG Grassroots Fund. Thank you for your support.”
Notes to editors
[1] The Mayor’s Violence Against Women and Girls Grassroot Fund is a support scheme set up by the Mayor to provide financial resilience to small community organisations that are working to end violence against women and girls (VAWG) and providing support for victims and survivors of VAWG.
The VAWG Grassroots Fund 2023-25 builds upon the success of the initial £3m fund which was awarded to 41 organisations (2021-23).
The Fund will prioritise:
- Black Minority Ethnic organisations focusing on ending VAWG.
- Women's community organisations where delivery services aimed at ending VAWG is the main focus.
- Specialist community organisations (e.g. disability rights groups, providing services aimed at ending VAWG).
[2] At the end of 2022, the End Violence Against Women group issued a joint statement on the impact of the cost of living crisis on women and children facing abuse, signed by 80 organisations calling for urgent government action to prevent it: https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/womens-organisations-call-for-urgent-action-to-address-the-cost-of-living-crisis/.
[3] The Mayor is making £3,000,000 of funds available over two years (November 2023 – November 2025). The Fund will provide two-year grants of up to £100,000 (£50,000 per year) for individual organisations. Partnerships of up to three organisations can apply for two-year grants of up to £120,000 (£60,000 per year). Applications close at 12 noon on 30 August 2023 and decisions on grantees are due to be announced in November 2023.
Organisations can apply for a grant through the Mayor of London’s Violence Against Women and Girls Grassroots Fund, here: https://londoncf.org.uk/grants/vawg-grassroots-fund.
[4] A full list of grantees from the initial round of funding can be found here: https://londoncf.org.uk/blog/3m-awarded-vawg-orgs.
[5] Too many women and girls fear for their safety and this is not an issue that can be tackled by policing alone. That’s why the Mayor’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls champions a public health approach to ending violence against women and girls – this includes:
- Record investment of £117m to tackle all violence against women and girls. This funding is working to save lives, reduce waiting lists and keep doors open for vital specialist support services for victims.
- The launch of a multi award-winning ‘Have A Word’ campaign film - which asks men of all ages to reflect on how they can help tackle violence against women and girls – this has now been viewed more than 15 million times.
- Funding a new £1million education toolkit - available to every secondary school in London - to help them recognise and tackle sexist and misogynistic behaviour.
- Investing an additional £17.7m in support services– including a specialised response to support all victims to have equal access to justice and service.
- As well as taking action to rebuild trust and confidence in the police and criminal justice system to ensure victims are supported and empowered to get the justice they deserve.
- www.london.gov.uk/VAWG
- The Mayor is working to make sure that the police and justice service do a better job for victims and survivors of VAWG and that they can access high quality services that are tailored to their needs – such as safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse or specialist support for victims and survivors of rape and sexual violence. The Mayor’s VAWG Strategy sets out his clear expectation for reform in the Met, so that it can regain the trust of women and girls in London. Under the Commissioner’s New Met for London Plan, strong action is being taken to root out officers unfit to serve, and to stamp out misogyny, racism and homophobia within the ranks. The Mayor will be unflinching in holding the Commissioner to account and supporting him to deliver on these vital reforms. The Strategy also addresses the underlying causes of VAWG, and the need to tackle misogynistic attitudes and behaviours within society that enable these appalling crimes. The Mayor is absolutely clear – it’s not for women to tackle these attitudes. It’s on us as men to reflect and act on the way we think, talk about and behave towards women.
The Mayor’s public health approach to tackling VAWG focuses on encouraging all of society to play their part and putting the onus of responsibility on men and boys to change the way they perceive, treat and talk about women. Last month the Mayor launched the second part of his #HaveAWord campaign calling on men to ‘Say Maaate to their mates’. https://www.london.gov.uk/media-centre/mayors-press-release/mayor-launches-major-new-campaign-to-empower-men-and-boys-to-say-maaate-to-their-mates-and-challenge-sexism-and-misogyny.
The innovative campaign aims to help men and boys confidently step-in when they witness language and behaviour towards women and girls that crosses the line. As part of the new campaign, the Mayor released a new interactive short film that can be used as a tool to help determine when, where and how to call out inappropriate language. www.london.gov.uk/maaate.