Showcase Highlights Action to End Violence Against Women and Girls
A showcase event in Newry, Mourne and Down has highlighted the local organisations and initiatives working to challenge harmful attitudes, promote safety and drive real change for women and girls across the district.
A showcase event in Newry, Mourne and Down has shone a spotlight on the organisations and initiatives working to tackle violence against women and girls across the district.
The event brought together community leaders, practitioners and local changemakers to highlight a range of projects aimed at preventing abuse, challenging harmful attitudes and helping women and girls feel safer in their everyday lives.
It also created space for local groups to share best practice, reflect on progress and strengthen collaboration across sectors as part of the wider effort to end violence against women and girls.
The work forms part of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) programme, a seven-year initiative mandated by the Northern Ireland Executive to address the abuse, violence and harm that are disproportionately experienced by women and girls.
As part of that commitment, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has received funding from The Executive Office to develop a series of local initiatives supporting the delivery of the Northern Ireland EVAWG Strategic Framework.
Over the past year, the council has allocated £135,000 through its EVAWG Change Fund to support voluntary and community organisations across the district.
That funding has helped deliver projects focused on prevention, including work to challenge the attitudes, behaviours and cultures that contribute to violence against women and girls, promote healthy and respectful relationships, and improve safety for women and girls in public and private spaces.
Alongside the Change Fund, the council has also supported a number of wider initiatives over the past year, including stakeholder conferences, youth engagement events, practitioner training in bystander intervention, awareness-raising video campaigns and creative arts projects.
To date, more than 5,000 people have engaged in local programmes.
Representatives from a number of participating organisations took part in panel discussions during the showcase event, speaking about the importance of collective action and the innovative approaches being used to create meaningful change in communities across the district.
Opening the event, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson Councillor Philip Campbell said tackling violence against women and girls requires a long-term commitment and a united response.
“Addressing Violence Against Women and Girls is a long-term commitment. It requires partnership across all sectors. It requires courage to challenge harmful attitudes,” he said.
“It requires conversations in our homes, our schools, our workplaces and our communities.
“Our Council is proud to support initiatives that form part of the wider movement to End Violence Against Women and Girls.”
For more information on the campaign, visit Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.
