Our goal is to create true cultural change in order to tackle the root causes of these behaviors and empower people to act to change this in their own lives. We know that community safety begins with ending sexual harassment.
Here at Raise Your Voice, we are dedicated to working in collaboration and providing volunteer opportunities for those who are passionate about ending sexual harassment and violence.
Individuals, groups and organisations can get involved by hosting our anti-sexual harassment workshops, volunteering with us in a variety of ways, taking part in our campaigning events, or joining our Anti-Sexual Harassment Forum to advise and inform the strategy. There are also opportunities to share your stories and have your voice be heard.
Or you can donate and support the cause below!
Want to organise a workshop for your organisation, youth group, sports team or school? Get in touch with us.
We are always looking for volunteers to help us with all areas of our project, from helping run events to social media.
As a non-profit collective we work with donations from our partners, in addition to public donations.
Our Mission
We want to create true cultural change in order to tackle and remove the root causes of behaviours that lead to sexual harassment and violence. Empowering those people to act to change this in their own lives. We know that community safety begins with ending sexual harassment, lets work together.
Delivery of the project is led by WRDA with partnership support from Reclaim the Agenda, NI Rural Women’s Network, and Women’s Support Network. The Anti-Sexual Harassment Forum advises on the strategy and is a collective of trade unions, LGBTQ+, feminist, youth, and community groups and organisations.
WRDA is a regional organisation whose mission is to advance women’s equality and participation in society by working to transform political, economic, social and cultural conditions. Established in 1983, WRDA works with women’s groups from all traditions in the most disadvantaged communities and from urban and rural areas of NI. WRDA also engages in advocacy and lobbying for the women’s sector on a wide range of activities and provides leadership, infrastructural support, and advocacy within the women’s sector.
Reclaim the Agenda is a coalition of feminist, youth, LGBTQ+ & community organisations. At RTA, we are campaigning and striving for equality in a progressive world. We want: (1) to live free from poverty, (2) to live free from discrimination, (3) to have healthcare services that meet our particular needs, (4) to live our lives free from domestic & sexual violence and abuse, (5) to live in a society where women are equally represented as decision makers, and (6) to have access to good, affordable and flexible childcare provision
WSN advocate for the established women’s centres all over our Region and host the Rape Crisis Service NI. Formed in 1989, WSN is a membership-based organisation whose mission is to support the development of women’s organisations, enable collective action and positively impact on policy and decision-making processes. WSN sit on the Anti-Poverty Strategy co design group, expert panel for Gender Equality and carry out regular research on issues impacting women including poverty, community-based training & education and engagement.
NIRWN is the voice for Rural Women providing vital support services, education, campaigning, and lobbying. Our vision is an equitable society where rural women are visible, influential and valued. NIRWN sit on the expert panel for Gender Equality Strategy, Anti-Poverty Strategy, Covid Emergency Leadership Group. NIRWN is a membership-based organisation with over 400 groups and 400 individual members. NIRWN provides advocacy representation for rural women at local and regional levels as well as at UK, Ireland, EU, and international level.
Sarah has worked for over 15 years in the fields of Community Education; Women, Peace & Security; Gender and Racial Equality; Peacebuilding; Youth Development; and Social Justice. She has worked across grassroots and public sector levels for many years and has represented women and underserved communities at local, regional and international levels.
Sarah is a qualified trainer and assessor having developed a portfolio of programmes spanning personal development, leadership, mediation, community development, and women’s empowerment.
Helen Crickard is the Co-ordinator for Reclaim the Agenda, a coalition of feminist, youth and LGBTQI+, community organisations and trade unions, with a mission to connect and mobile women to promote feminist activism through education campaigning and celebration. We are striving for a life free from poverty and discrimination. Healthcare services that meet our particular needs and childcare provision that is good, affordable and flexible. To live free from domestic and sexual violence and abuse, and live in a society where women are equally represented as decision-makers.
Louise is the organisation Director for Northern Ireland Rural Women’s Network (NIRWN). Northern Ireland Rural Women’s Network (NIRWN) was established in September 2006 working towards a vision of an equitable society where rural women are visible, influential and valued.
NIRWN is a membership-based organisation whose mission is ‘to advance the participation and recognition of rural women’ at local, regional and strategic level. Louise has worked with the organisation since its inception and prior to this worked in both the community/voluntary and statutory sectors.
Anne took up post in Women’s Resource & Development Agency-WRDA as Director in January 2014 and has an extensive wealth of experience acquired over the past thirty-five years delivering community development, skills building, strategic planning and peacebuilding activities within the Women’s Sector. Anne has held a wide variety of roles, from working as a Welfare Rights and Housing Worker to working across communities, playing a significant role in both the establishment and development of Shankill Women’s Centre and WOMEN’STEC.
Deirdre Quinn came to WRDA in 2018, with over 20 years of practical work experience in economic development and recruitment/training. She has specialised in the Welfare to work sector, with substantial experience designing and delivering Employability programmes, Motivational and Confidence building courses and one-to-one Coaching and Mentoring. As the Training Development Manager at WRDA, she has responsibility for overseeing training, with particular emphasis on the management, design and delivery of the Community Facilitator’s programme and Belfast City Council Capacity Building programmes.
Siobhán has worked for the Women’s Support Network (WSN) for 5 years as a Policy & Research Officer. She is responsible for drafting research papers and consultation responses on issues that impact women on behalf of the Women’s Regional Consortium in Northern Ireland. She does this by holding focus groups with local women discussing the issues important to them and reflecting their views in policy documents and papers. Siobhán is a member of the Women’s Policy Group which is a platform for women working in policy and advocacy roles in different organisations to share their work and speak with a collective voice on key issues.
Karen has over twenty years’ experience working with the women’s sector in a variety of settings and has been the Director of the Women’s Support Network (WSN) since 2014. Karen took up this role to advocate for and lobby to ensure that the work of the fourteen women’s centres across NI, and other women’s sector organisations providing vital services for women in disadvantaged communities, remains a key priority for government. In 2019 WSN secured funding through the ROSAUK Justice & Equality Fund to develop and launch a new Rape Crisis Service for NI, a service that had not been available for 16 years.
Elaine Crory is a Women’s Sector Lobbyist at the Women’s Resource & Development Agency (WRDA), lobbying elected representatives and decision-makers on issues that impact women in NI. Elaine has worked at WRDA since 2018 on peacebuilding, VAWG and Raise Your Voice. Prior to coming to WRDA, she worked in education, delivering adult education programmes focused on politics and history. She is currently a specialist advisor on VAWG to the Women & Equalities Committee at Westminster.
