Charities supporting disadvantaged women and girls through the coronavirus pandemic and recovery are to receive £15 million from the latest round of the Tampon Tax Fund.
Projects that help victims of domestic abuse, work with eating disorder sufferers, and provide mentoring for disadvantaged young women, are among those to receive grants of more than £1 million each over the next two years.
The money will also be used to make grants to smaller organisations so they can deploy services that support vulnerable women and girls.
Minister for Civil Society, Baroness Barran, said:
Vulnerable women and girls need our support more than ever in this difficult year, and these grants will help keep vital services going.
From supporting victims of domestic abuse, to those suffering from mental health problems, this funding will help to directly tackle some of the most serious issues facing women and girls today.
This year's recipients can also use part of their grant funding to improve the sustainability of their organisations, helping them continue their vital work into the future.
The deadline for applications was extended this year in light of the coronavirus outbreak, to ensure as many front line charities as possible were able to apply.
The 12 projects receiving funding from this round of the Tampon Tax are:
Women in Prison (£1,000,000): The Creating Community Connections Project links women in prison with a network of local women's centres, to offer holistic support to meet their needs, address root causes of offending, improve outcomes on release and intercept cycles of trauma, disadvantage and abuse.
Ovarian Cancer Action (£1,259,788): The funding will go towards a project to spearhead equal access to clinical excellence for all women with ovarian cancer regardless of where they live, their age or ethnicity.
Solace Women's Aid (£1,614,288): The Labyrinth Project will help ensure all women have access to the support they need in the spaces most appropriate for them, joining up expertise across legal, economic, social and community spheres.
Rosa Fund (£1,906,855): Funding will benefit 27,000 women and girls through onward grants to 140 organisations of all sizes, helping them to navigate the pressures of the pandemic.
SafeLives (£1,488,534): The Your Best Friend project will empower 10,000+ young women with knowledge and confidence to act before someone harms or is harmed, to keep themselves and others safe.
Comic Relief (£1,282,173): Funding will be used for onward grants of between £40,000 and £250,000 to organisations led by BAME women for BAME women, to address violence against women and girls in all four nations of the UK.
The Medaille Trust (£1,000,714): The Moving On Project focuses on meeting the long-term needs of women affected by trafficking and modern slavery.
Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse (£1,203,610): Funding the national roll out of Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts to improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence.
London Youth (£1,000,000): The programme will support BAME girls aged 10-14 and a cohort of 30+ youth workers, funding activities to promote mental health and wellbeing.
YMCA England and Wales (£1,000,861.00): Y's Girls Mentoring will identify young people at risk of developing mild to moderate mental health issues and match them with a trained community-based volunteer mentor.
Beat (£1,074,032): The Keystone project aims to provide better health outcomes for girls and young women suffering from eating disorders through support for their carers.
Rape Crisis Scotland (£1,019,144.00): The Access to Change project aims to build the capacity of Rape Crisis services across Scotland to meet the needs of survivors of all forms of sexual violence, especially those who face additional barriers to support.
The Tampon Tax Fund uses the funds generated from the VAT on women's sanitary products.
While the UK was a member of the European Union, VAT on these products could not fall below 5 per cent. The Chancellor announced in March this year that the tax will end in January 2021, at the end of the transition period following the UK's exit from the EU.
Today's announcement builds on the Government's unprecedented £750 million package of support which is ensuring that tens of thousands of frontline charities can meet increased demand as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and continue their vital work supporting those in need. This funding includes:
- The £200 million Coronavirus Community Support Fund for small and medium-sized charities working on the front line across England.
- £360 million via government departments, including £200 million to hospices across England, and £79 million to charities that support vulnerable children and people who have suffered from domestic abuse, sexual abuse and modern slavery;
- £37 million to the BBC's Big Night In appeal, which has matched the generosity of the public in raising funds for Children In Need, Comic Relief and the National Emergencies Trust;
- £85 million through DCMS' Community Match Challenge, which has doubled the money raised by recipients including Greggs Foundation, the Steve Morgan Foundation, Comic Relief and Global Radio's 'Make Some Noise' campaign to unlock more than £160 million for good causes;
- £60 million to the Devolved Administrations to support charities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland;
- £5 million to the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership to support volunteers in local areas.
It comes on top of the £150 million released from dormant accounts to help social enterprises get affordable credit to people who are financially vulnerable and support charities tackling youth unemployment.
With the wider Government financial support schemes in place, charities will continue to benefit from an unprecedented multi-billion-pound package of support.
