Women’s organisations are seeing demand for their services increase by 85%, while their funding is decreasing by half.
This is according to a June 2018 report by the Women’s Resource Centre, which argues that women’s organisations are needed to combat the reality of gender inequality but are threatened in the current funding and policy environment.
Key findings include:
- Participants strongly believed that women should have the choice of women-only services and spaces and valued the distinctive ethos and atmosphere of women-only services.
- Safety was of major importance to women and services or groups
provided a unique safe space led by and for women who shared aspects of identity or lived experience. - Specialist women’s organisations provide effective support
- Belonging was very important to service users to challenge isolation and
loneliness and support community building and cohesion. - Service users report changes to their lives including gaining confidence, getting a job, and vastly improving their health.
- Service users know of women-only services that were cut or severely reduced, and are concerned about the future of services they have used.
The report calls for sustainable funding and for the value of women-only-organisations to be recognised, as illustrated in this report.
