On the 20th of August, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) hosted a webinar titled “Resourcing Ending Violence against Women and Girls Globally”. The webinar welcomed over 140 participants from across the globe. Gemma Wood, an independent consultant, shared key findings from the paper “Organisational Resilience: What it means and its importance to Civil Society Organisations working to end violence against women and girls”
She indicated that organizational resilience is the ability to anticipate, prepare for, respond and adapt to crisis and challenges, but also to learn. It’s a feeling of being able to thrive, utilising opportunities, and to innovate. Chinyere Eyoh, Executive Director of SOAR Initiative in Nigeria emphasised on the need to invest in organizational resilience. She highlighted its crucial role in developing “the visibility, the voice and stronger programming that enable [them] now to have a seat at the table with the government and other partners when it comes to addressing issues of sexual and gender-based violence in northern Nigeria.”
The UN Trust Fund grantee partner NGO “Club Eney” adapted its initiative amidst the war in Ukraine to keep providing support services to at-risk women and girls and survivors of violence. The director, Vielta Parkhomenko explained that their “ability to adapt and respond quickly is a testament to the strength and flexibility that comes from being a community-led organization. Cynthia Eyakuze, Co-Vice President of the Global Program at the Equality fund emphasized the roles of feminist funds, such as the UN Trust Fund and the Equality Fund in providing core, flexible, long-term funding for organizations working to end violence against women and girls, including small organizations and those working in crisis settings calling on donors to “take risks and to be bold.
Recommendations to donors
Panelists concluded the webinar by sharing recommendations to donors on building the resilience and preparedness of organizations by highlighting the points below:
- Provide core, flexible and long-term funding.
- Enable the leadership of women’s rights organizations.
- Invest in small, grassroots organizations.
- Support team-building, and self- and collective care for organizations’ staff.
- Learn from civil society and women’s rights organizations to build an environment of trust.
Take risks and be bold in your vision.