Funding boost will be shared by more than 100 organisations already working to prevent violence against women and girls and support survivors
Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart has announced an additional £2.4m for efforts being made across Scotland working to tackle violence against women and girls. The new funding brings the total investment from the Scottish government in the Delivering Equally Safe initiative to £21.6m for the coming year – subject to approval of the 2025-26 Budget.
Photo by Vonecia Carswell
The Delivering Equally Safe fund was established in 2021 to support third-sector organisations and public bodies to play a part in achieving the objectives, priorities and outcomes of the Scottish government’s Equally Safe strategy to eradicate violence against women and girls.
Since that launch, frontline projects funded through the scheme have supported 67,004 adults, young people and children.
In December last year, a funding extension of £19.2m was announced to enable the organisation involved to continue their work until March 2026. For a full list of the 100 organisations, see the Scottish government website.
Kaukab Stewart MSP, Minister for Equalities, announced the increase in funding today while visiting SAY Women, a charity in Glasgow that offers safe accommodation and emotional support to young women aged 16 to 25 who are survivors of sexual abuse and face homelessness.
Ms Stewart, says: ‘Grassroots organisations across Scotland are at the heart of tackling violence against women and girls. Their work is fundamental to creating a country free from gender-based abuse. This funding boost will support these organisations, will help prevent abuse occurring and ensure that women and girls who have experienced violence can continue to access the support they deserve.’
Pam Hunter, CEO of SAY Women, adds: ‘SAY Women is delighted to receive the additional funds. This will go towards increasing our investment into projects for the young women within our services. In the face of the rising cost of living, increase in N.I contributions and inflation, the organisation made the challenging executive decision to limit the variety of activities on offer to those in our care so that we may allow the staff to have a fair living wage. This additional funding will reinstate many of the services that were temporarily paused so that SAY Women may continue to do the good work supporting young women affected by sexual violence and homelessness.’
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