RAISE YOUR VOICE IN THIS ISSUE
Against Sexual Harassment
Raise Your Voice project grows regionally
Raise You Voice has begun a major project aimed at ending sexual harassment and violence against women and girls to empower people across Northern Irelandtotacklethishugeissue
Theepidemicofviolenceandabusethathasresulted in the murders of 25 women in four years will be addressed by the Raise Your Voice project working in all 11 council areas at grassroots level as part of the Stormont Executive’s Strategic Framework for Ending ViolenceAgainstWomenandGirls.
This innovative project, challenges the normalisation of sexual harassment to create a cultural shift that eradicates sexual harassment and sexual violence Raise Your Voice will deliver workshops across Northern Ireland open to women and girls, men and boys exploring a range of issues to bring about change
The workshops are part of the first tranche of the Strategic Framework introduced in the Assembly by the First and Deputy First Ministers in September and officiallylaunchedlastmonth.
The initial £3.2m package includes £1.2m to the eight organisations to deliver community based education and awareness initiatives across Northern Ireland A further £2m is being given to the 11 regional councils to help them support the first stage of the strategy, focusing on prevention WRDA as lead partner in RaiseYourVoiceisoneoftheseeightorganisations Getintouchtohostaworkshop!
Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
On21January,TheFirstMinisterand deputy First Minister announced the launchoftheNIExecutive’sRegional Change Fund of their Ending Violence Against Women and Girls strategy.
The Change Fund is a fundamental part of delivering the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategic Framework as it focuses on prevention; specifically challenging attitudes, behaviours and culture, education on healthy and respectful relationships and striving to ensure women and girls aresafeandfeelsafeeverywhere.
TheeightorganisationsthatwillreceivefundingundertheRegionalChangeFundare: Nexus, Women's Aid Federation NI (WAFNI), Women’s Resource and Development Agency(WRDA),RelateNI,WhiteRibbonNI,YouthAction,NSPCC,andBarnardo'sNI.
This investment will allow the Raise Your Voice project, led by WRDA, to be delivered acrossall11councils
InadditiontotheRegionalFund, each of the 11 councils are launching their own plans throughtheLocalChangeFund.
Raise Your Voice supported Belfast City Council with their launch event by hosting and info stall and speaking with several organisations interested in applying to the Local Change Fund in Belfast and tackling this important issue. Raise Your Voice will support Fermanagh an Omagh District Council’s launch in Enniskillen on 10th Mar and Derry City & Strabane DistrictCouncilon21stMar
From left to right: Liz Cutler, Catherine Minford, ElaineCrory,AnneMcVicker,HelenCrickardand SarahStackatthelauncheventinStormont.
Raise Your Voice Project at the launch of the Belfast City Council’s Ending Violence Against womenandGirlsLocalChangeFund
Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week 2024
SEXUAL ABUSE & SEXUAL VIOLENCE AWARENESS WEEK IS THE UK’S NATIONAL WEEK TO RAISE AWARENESS OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND VIOLENCE AND TO PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY ORGANISATION OR INDIVIDUAL TO ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE
New Workshop to understand and tackle Misogyny
By Elaine Crory, Women’s Sector Lobbyist
RaiseYourVoiceisworkingonanewworkshoptojoinourexistingofferoffive,andthis one will focus on misogyny A word that is used more and more in the current public conversation about Violence Against Women and Girls, misogyny is often misunderstood. This workshop will address that misunderstanding and replace confusionwithfacts.
A significant part of the workshop will focus on exercises that will help participants to understandwhatthewordmeansintheoryandwhatitmeansinpractice,becauseif wecannotrecogniseitwhenweseeit,wecannotfightitandwecannoteliminateits toxiceffects.Wewillexaminethedifferencesbetweensexismandmisogyny,whichare both harmful but are often confused with each other and understand why the differences are important From there we will work to help participants understand how misogyny is the motivation behind so much of the violence that women face –whether directly from men or from the state, for example in the form of laws that restrictwomen’sfreedom.
One of the learning outcomes is understanding that misogyny lies at the roots of gender-based violence. This type of violence takes many forms, but its root is always inantagonismtowardswomen,ormisogyny.Misogynyissonormalisedinoursociety that people often deny its existence or seek to minimise it, insisting that women are making a fuss about nothing, misunderstanding harmless jokes or old-fashioned views Thetruthisthatgender-basedviolenceandmisogynyruinslives,limitswomen andgirlsandpreventsusfromreachingourfullpotential.Wemustnotshyawayfrom thinkingaboutit,discussingitandtacklingitineverywaywecan. Misogyny is also a motivating factor in many crimes against women and girls, including trans women, and against non-binary people, and it can play a part in homophobiccrimetoo
Through interactive exercises we will explore how misogyny manifests itself, examine ways to tackle it when we encounter it – including in ourselves. We will examine the role of misogynist influencers who have dominated the online world in recent years andwhoarehavingatoxicinfluenceonyoungmenandadultmenalike
Asmentionedabove,theteamatRaiseYourVoicebelievesthatthisworkshopwillfilla spaceintheconversationaboutVAWGthatisongoing;itwillcomplementourexisting workshops, but it will also name something that unfortunately goes unnamed in the very phrase “Violence Against Women and Girls”, which does not name the cause of this violence or the people who tend to carry it out It will be a challenging workshop, butonethatwebelieveisavitalcontribution.
IImpact mpact 2024 2024
Workshops delivered
Increased knowledgeof sexualharassment &bystander interventions
Better understandingof linkbtwsexist attitudes, discriminatory practices&gender basedviolence
Better understandingof sexualharassment intheworkplace
Moremotivatedto beanactive bystander
Raise Your Voice took part in a special guest lecture with Criminology students at Queen’s University Belfast. This was alongside members of the Hate Crime Advocacy Service organisation, Victim Support and The Rainbow Project, with Raise Your Voice delivering BystanderInterventionworkshop.
As part of Ulster University’s Sexual Health and Guidance Week Raise Your Voice hosted information stalls at all 3 campuses Students and staff picked up posters and postcards, and tookpartinourstatsonVAWGquiz.
RaiseYourVoicedeliveredtwoworkshopsatthe Politics in Action ‘Democracy: Threats and Opportunities’ conference. We spoke to dozens of young people about how to recognise sexual harassment and how everyday sexism can lead tofullblownviolence
Men’s Experiences of Raise Your Voice Workshops
By Rachel Franklin, Public health researcher
Through a series of focus groups with men who have taken part in Raise Your Voice workshops we are continuing to improve our content to make sure everyone is equippedtousebystanderinterventiontools
MenwhocompletedRaiseYourVoiceworkshopsreportedbeingmoreabletoidentify sexual harassment within their own experiences and demonstrated understanding of how ‘everyday’ sexism supports more problematic behaviour Participants gained knowledgeandconfidenceinusingavarietyofmethodsofbystanderinterventionand expressedaclearshiftinattitudeawayfromdirectintervention.
Empathy and perspective taking were highlighted as having an important role in learning and attitude change. Participants described how this impacted their understandingofwhyabehaviourmightconstitutesexualharassment,whetherornot theymightinterveneandhow,andamorevictim-centredapproachingeneral
Theimportanceofpeersasaninfluenceinthisareawasclear. Misperceptionsofpeer attitudescontributetothenormalisationofharassmentinourcommunitiesinaddition to stigmatising victims and creating barriers to intervention for men The groups described participating in the Raise Your Voice workshop as an opportunity to share positive peer norms which boosted confidence and motivation and reduced isolation. The use of group discussion throughout is a key aspect of the delivery, facilitating a positivepeerexperienceandvaluableexplorationofissues,contextsandtools.
The impact of gender in relation to sexual violence and also men’s experience of the workshop, was clear This could be seen in relation to participants’ knowledge and awareness of sexual violence, understanding of what constitutes sexual violence, attitudestovictimsandtheroleofmeninrelationtovictimsandintervention.
Within the findings there was some evidence of defensiveness regarding men as perpetrators of sexual violence and also concern expressed about balance towards male victims in the session Some ambivalent attitudes towards victims of sexual violenceandthoseaccusedwerealsoexpressed.
Benevolent sexism emerged as an influence on attitudes and behaviour. This is s superficially positive ‘chivalry’ that might seem to motivate men towards bystander intervention but reinforces gender stereotypes, drives an unhelpful focus on direct interventionandcanbeunderstoodascontributingtorapeculture
The evaluation found that the Raise Your Voice workshop is an effective and appropriateinterventionformenbutalsothatgenderhasasignificantimpactonhow it is experienced As such, some recommendations have been made to maximise efficacy with this important target group These include ensuring that ‘benevolent sexisim’ is not reinforoced in workshops and actively engaging men as both participantsandaspartofthesteeringanddeliveryteam.
International Women’s Day
The International Women’s Day march and Rally will take place on Saturday 8th March. Gather in Writer’s Square from 11:30am to march of at noon sharp. The march will travel through the city center to City Hall for Speeches.
Aftertherallytherewillbestalls andactivitiesin2RoyalAvenue from 2 - 4pm. We will be there with our Raise Your Voice posters and postcards, stop by to pick some up and find out moreaboutourwork
RAISING VOICES
ACCIDENTAL THEATER 26 MARCH 7PM
JoinRaiseYourVoiceforaregional eveningeventofspokenwordand musicfromJuanitaRea,andlearnhow wecanallchallengevictimblaming attitudesandsupportsurvivors.
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Like what you see? To submit an article for or share your resources in the next issue of the e-zine, contact Raise Your Voice!
Women’s Resource and Development Agency is pleased to be one of the 8 organisations delivering on the NI Executive’s Regional Change Fund to End Violence Against Women and Girls, expanding our Raise Your Voice Project with partners RTA, WSN, and NIRWN.
This publication is grant aided by Belfast City Council and TEO The views expressed are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Council The Council does not accept any responsibility or liability for same
The Executive Office (TEO) EVAWG Programme runs the Change Fund through Belfast City Council (BCC) which contributes to this publication; in doing so, TEO/EVAWG hold no responsibility for the content and are not necessarily endorsing all content used
