'It takes a whole community' - Improving support for women and girls in Clackmannanshire

About this fund

Clackmannanshire's Transformation Space is a partnership between local residents, Clackmannanshire Council and funding partners. Money from the Council will be pooled with external funding to create a new resource to support projects and initiatives which address issues affecting those who live and work in Clackmannanshire. This represents a radical shift towards a preventative and relational model of public services, seeking to support work which provides early intervention for issues in new, collaborative ways.

Residents of Clackmannanshire have gathered to form Community Voice, a group that represents the experience and expertise of those living in the area. As a small sub-group, we have worked to bring some clarity and local context to the challenge this fund aims to tackle. Not to try and design a fix but to describe the best problems to solve. 

Our aim is to inspire, encourage and invite others to develop ideas for new approaches and services that could contribute to reducing or even better – preventing - the violence too many women and girls face. 

Community Voice has £100,000 to distribute in this round. You can apply for any amount up to that level. Your project may be for one year or less or up to three years. Your project may be about testing an idea or scaling existing work. We anticipate this may be a competitive round so please talk to other groups or organisations you think might be applying and consider where you can collaborate or work together. 

Purpose of this fund

Supporting women and girls to build confidence, safety and resilience - so they are less vulnerable to violence - remains a critical priority in Clackmannanshire, where violence against women and girls continues to be a significant and persistent issue. The impacts of this violence extend beyond the immediate trauma experienced by women and girls, directly affecting children, families, communities and public services, and contributing to poor mental health, entrenched inequality, housing instability and reduced life chances.

In 2018, Scotland introduced world-leading legislation on domestic abuse, coercive control and sexual offences, alongside strategies to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. While these have strengthened legal protections, evidence shows that services are under pressure, access is uneven, and many women and girls still face barriers to getting help. 

And despite committed work by statutory and third-sector partners in Clackmannanshire, women with lived experience describe a system that is difficult to navigate, inconsistent, and not always trauma-informed. These challenges are compounded by rising demand, limited resources, and the long-term effects of trauma and inequality.

This fund builds women’s and girls’ confidence, safety and resilience while preventing violence against women and girls and improving outcomes for communities in Clackmannanshire.

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What We Know
We set out to paint a picture of factors affecting the safety of women and girls in Clackmannshire today, based on lived experience and knowledge of how organisations are supporting women and girls. Here’s what we learned:

Despite existing support for women and girls, Clackmannanshire has some of the highest recorded levels of violence against women in Scotland. This includes domestic abuse, coercive control, sexual violence, harassment, grooming, exploitation, honour-based abuse and online harm. 

Almost one in four women will experience domestic abuse. Only around 5% of rapes are reported and women often wait a long time before they tell anyone they are being abused, if they ever do. Much of this violence is hidden in plain sight. And it is often passed down from one generation to the next, making the experience of violence, abuse and trauma normal. So some women do not realise they are being abused because control and manipulation is ‘just  how things are’.

Many women experiencing abuse do not or cannot use existing services. Fear, shame, loss of control, and worries about children being removed stop women from asking for help. Services can feel confusing, frightening or punitive. Women are often talked about but not included in decisions that affect them.

There are gaps and pressures in support. Access to specialist services can feel limited and fragile. Women need help even if they report late, do not report at all, or do not meet service thresholds. Women do not always know of a safe place to go in a crisis – especially those facing additional barriers.  

Girls also face growing risks. Misogyny and sexual harassment have become normalised. Grooming and exploitation are often not recognised by girls themselves. Our schools teach about healthy relationships but more could be done.  Online harm and access to adults who want to abuse girls is increasing and yet girls can be the ones who are blamed, moved, or restricted.
Violence against women and girls has long-lasting impacts. Trauma can affect women and girls for years, making it much harder for them to learn, work, trust others or feel safe. Survivors may avoid people and places, struggle to make decisions, or appear not to engage with services. Many experience unexpected debt and financial hardship. Children are affected too as exposure to abuse can shape their health, behaviour and relationships for life.

A vision to work towards
As a group, we also imagined an alternative future for Clackmannanshire, one in which the women and girls – and our wider community – is safer. We recognised that this shift ‘takes a whole community’. We've described below what Clackmannanshire would need to look and feel like to achieve this. These aren't suggested solutions; they're eventual, longer-term outcomes that we hope might emerge from the work we choose to fund:

In a future Clackmannanshire, support for women and girls is woven into everyday life because:

• All pupils have a clear and confident understanding of healthy relationships, consent, coercion and gender-based violence.
• Children and young people understand abuse, recognise warning signs and know where to get help. They are safer and more informed.
• There is more positive and open discussion about relationships at home, in schools and in the community.
• Boys and men are part of the solution, helping to create respectful, non-violent environments.

In a future Clackmannanshire, women and girls are safe, equal, confident and able to live full lives free from violence.

• Violence against women and girls is rare, unacceptable and no longer hidden.
• There is no stigma, blame or labelling attached to seeking help if that’s needed.
• People have good mental health and self-harm linked to trauma has decreased.
• Children grow up safer, with less generational trauma carried into adulthood.

In a future Clackmannanshire, support from services feel different in the rare instances they are still needed:

• The police, council and other support organisations ensure that those who experience their services feel that they are visible, approachable and straightforward to access and operate in a trauma-informed way.
• Women and girls trust these services and feel listened to, believed and respected.
• People receiving support understand what is happening and why.
• Services communicate better with each other so can always help. They work as one connected system.
• Lived experience continues to shape decisions about safety in our communities.

In a future Clackmannanshire, families and communities are stronger and more connected:

• There is less pressure on crisis services because harm is prevented earlier.
• Generational cycles of violence are being broken. Women and girls are respected, happier and living more fulfilled lives.
• People listen to each other and work together to prevent harm.
• Clackmannanshire is a safe place for everyone.

Additional criteria

We welcome applications that fit Foundation Scotland’s common eligibility criteria. Please contact us if you are unsure about your eligibility. The grant you are applying for may cover the full cost of the project or just part of it. If you're only asking for part of the costs, please indicate if the other funding is in place or where you plan for it to come from.  

Timescales
Please submit your completed application by midday, 16 February. Funding decisions will be made by late March.

Who can apply?

The Community Voice Panel wants to fund projects or activity that that will contribute towards creating the future described above. The project may be to test an idea or deepen or develop a preventative approach that is already showing success. They welcome applications that: 

• are deeply informed by the ideas and insights of women and/or girls who have experienced violence and abuse
• recognise the value of local knowledge, expertise and skills when it comes to delivering activities
• are collaborative and see this as an opportunity to develop or test partnership working that could form the basis of future joint funding applications or longer-term programmes
• invest in approaches that empower women and girls and/or also engage men and boys in prevention

What can’t be funded?

Information on what the fund cannot support is provided here. 

How are decisions made?

Decisions about how the funding is distributed will be made by the Community Voice residents group. You can read more about how funding decisions are made.