26/11/2025
Funding Boost For Belfast Projects Tackling Violence Against Women And Girls
An innovative construction skills training project for women is among 27 Belfast community and voluntary schemes benefiting from £255,000 in grants aimed at tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) across the city.
Belfast Lord Mayor, Councillor Tracy Kelly, visited participants of the Hard Hat Thinking series, delivered by Women’s TEC, to mark the start of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
The Women’s TEC project combines hands-on learning in non-traditional female sectors with practical workshops focused on recognizing and reporting abuse, building confidence, and accessing specialist support.
Local Change Fund Initiatives
The funding comes from the Local Change Fund, set up by Belfast City Council to support the Northern Ireland Executive’s seven-year Strategic Framework to End VAWG.
Other successful projects receiving grants include:
Games, Protection and Sport: A sports-based program for men and women in north Belfast, delivered by Tackling Awareness of Mental Health Issues (TAMHI).
Wasted: A play by Bruiser Theatre Company aimed at exploring issues of consent with secondary school pupils aged 16 and over.
Culturally sensitive training and workshops for the city’s black and minority ethnic communities from Belfast City of Sanctuary.
Training and mentoring by HERe NI to help break the silence and stigma around violence towards women and girls in the LGBTQIA+ community.
All 27 projects will be delivered between now and April 2026.
Lord Mayor Councillor Kelly highlighted the scheme's popularity, noting that 95 applications were received, requesting over £1.25 million. She confirmed that the Council has written to the Executive Office to request further funding to support more vital community work.
Lynn Carvill, CEO of Women’s TEC, welcomed the funding: “Regrettably, domestic and sexual violence is presenting as an issue for too many of our students. We welcome the opportunity to increase awareness and challenge this societal scourge within the safe space that Women’s TEC provides.”
Belfast Lord Mayor, Councillor Tracy Kelly, visited participants of the Hard Hat Thinking series, delivered by Women’s TEC, to mark the start of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
The Women’s TEC project combines hands-on learning in non-traditional female sectors with practical workshops focused on recognizing and reporting abuse, building confidence, and accessing specialist support.
Local Change Fund Initiatives
The funding comes from the Local Change Fund, set up by Belfast City Council to support the Northern Ireland Executive’s seven-year Strategic Framework to End VAWG.
Other successful projects receiving grants include:
Wasted: A play by Bruiser Theatre Company aimed at exploring issues of consent with secondary school pupils aged 16 and over.
Culturally sensitive training and workshops for the city’s black and minority ethnic communities from Belfast City of Sanctuary.
Training and mentoring by HERe NI to help break the silence and stigma around violence towards women and girls in the LGBTQIA+ community.
All 27 projects will be delivered between now and April 2026.
Lord Mayor Councillor Kelly highlighted the scheme's popularity, noting that 95 applications were received, requesting over £1.25 million. She confirmed that the Council has written to the Executive Office to request further funding to support more vital community work.
Lynn Carvill, CEO of Women’s TEC, welcomed the funding: “Regrettably, domestic and sexual violence is presenting as an issue for too many of our students. We welcome the opportunity to increase awareness and challenge this societal scourge within the safe space that Women’s TEC provides.”
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.