Gender Equity Programme

Dundee International Women’s Centre (DIWC) is a charity supporting women from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds who face barriers such as poverty, trauma, abuse and inequality. Their work focuses on education, advocacy and trauma informed support.

The funding will be used to contribute towards the core costs of delivering support for women from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds in Dundee, increasing organisational capacity to provide one-to-one support and targeted outreach.

Empower Women for Change is a diverse minority- and community-led group based in Glasgow, established in 2015. The organisation aims to nurture leadership skills and promote active citizenship.

The funding will be used to deliver a programme of creative activities for women and girls from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, amplifying lived experience voices. The activities will culminate in a final creative output, which may include a theatre production, digital storytelling, short films or exhibitions.

Gilded Lily Inspiring Enterprise was established in 2016 in Glasgow. It supports women and girls from diverse backgrounds to become more confident, creative, employable and enterprising by providing workshops, training programmes and activities.

The funding will be used to contribute towards the core costs of delivering services to women and girls from marginalised and racialised communities in Govan and surrounding areas of Glasgow.

Glasgow Women’s Library (GWL) began as a grassroots group and has grown to become the UK’s sole Accredited Museum dedicated to women’s history. Based in Glasgow’s East End, GWL hosts a library, museum and archive collection that centres marginalised voices, with a particular focus on women who have experienced discrimination due to race, ethnicity, sexuality and socioeconomic background. GWL delivers accessible learning opportunities and events, providing a vital community space that challenges inequality and promotes social justice.

The funding will be used to support the delivery costs of the Adult Literacy and Numeracy project and the values-led succession planning project.

HSTAR Scotland is a Stirling-based charity, operating across Forth Valley since 2020. They provide counselling, emotional wellbeing sessions, advocacy and community-based activities to help women rebuild their lives after experiencing trauma and/or abuse. They support women, particularly those facing social, economic and cultural barriers, to rebuild their confidence, safety and independence.

The funding will be used to contribute to the core costs of providing counselling, one-to-one emotional and wellbeing support, and community-based services for women and girls affected by trauma and abuse.

Kairos Women+ is a community-led organisation established in 2017 in Paisley, Renfrewshire. They are an inclusive charity supporting women+ to make change in their local communities. Services include peer support, personal development programmes, training and development opportunities.

The funding will be used to contribute to the core costs of delivering one-to-one, group and community-based support for women+ in Paisley.

MILK is a women-led community café and social enterprise based in Glasgow’s Govanhill/Cathcart area. Originally established to support women from refugee, asylum and migrant backgrounds, their work now reaches women of all backgrounds. The café hosts free activities including community law clinics, yoga, salsa, sewing and wellbeing classes, digital drop-ins and ESOL conversation groups. They also provide one-to-one support with accessing healthcare, social work, housing and foodbanks. Their catering enterprise helps sustain these activities while also offering free hot lunches to those who need them.

The funding will be used to contribute towards core costs of delivering services to women, particularly from migrant backgrounds, in Glasgow.

Miscarriage Support (MISS) was established in 2017 in Aberdeen as a community group and has since developed into a charity. MISS provides direct support to women who have experienced pregnancy loss. They also deliver workshops to raise awareness of pregnancy loss and the support people may need.

The funding will be used to contribute to the core costs of providing support to women affected by early pregnancy loss and delivering associated awareness-raising work, such as Baby Loss Awareness Week.

Nurture the Borders, based in the Scottish Borders, was established in 2015 as a community group and became a perinatal mental health charity in 2020. Their core work is to support the perinatal health of women in the Scottish Borders, providing therapeutic, practical and peer support to improve maternal wellbeing.

The funding will be used to contribute to the core costs of supporting women’s mental health and wellbeing throughout the perinatal period, pregnancy and early motherhood.

Established in 2014 in Inverness, RASASH is a charity supporting people aged 13+ across the Highlands who have been affected by sexual violence. They provide free, confidential support through their Support Line, one-to-one emotional and therapeutic work, rural outreach, criminal justice advocacy, group sessions, therapeutic art workshops and prevention education.

The funding will be used to contribute towards the core costs of delivering services, including one-to-one and group support, outreach and advocacy, for women and girls affected by sexual violence in the Highlands.

SAY Women (Support and Accommodate Young Women) is a Glasgow-based charity providing supported accommodation and emotional support to women aged 16 to 24 who are survivors of sexual abuse, rape or assault and who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

The funding will be used to help increase capacity in the Glasgow Accommodation Project for women affected by sexual abuse and homelessness.

The Daisy Project was formed in 2020 to provide domestic abuse advocacy and support services to women in Glasgow’s Castlemilk area, with a focus on early intervention and prevention. Their aim is to create positive pathways for women experiencing isolation, poverty and marginalisation by improving physical, digital and financial support around their health and wellbeing.

The funding will be used to support women affected by domestic abuse through the delivery of a new RESET programme, which equips them with tools to aid their recovery. The project includes learning on the effects of trauma on the physical body, support groups, therapeutic sessions and additional support where needed.

WRASAC is a charity supporting women and children affected by rape, sexual abuse and exploitation across Dundee and Angus. They provide free, confidential, trauma-informed specialist support, including one-to-one emotional and therapeutic work, advocacy, crisis response, practical assistance and group sessions. They also deliver education, awareness-raising and prevention work.

The funding will be used to contribute towards the core costs of delivering services for women and girls affected by sexual violence across Dundee and Angus.

Women’s Support Project is a Glasgow-based charity. Their core work focuses on raising awareness of the impacts of violence against women, with particular emphasis on supporting women affected by commercial sexual exploitation and female genital mutilation. They amplify women’s experiences and support them to use their own voices to raise awareness.

The funding will be used to contribute to the core costs of delivering services for women who have been involved in selling or exchanging sex, or who have experienced female genital mutilation or other ritual practices, while continuing to amplify the voices of lived experience.