16 Days of Activism: Economic Empowerment is Safety

Domestic abuse goes beyond what you can see. It leaves many women unsafe, financially dependent, low in confidence, and unsure of their own worth.

Economic abuse traps thousands of women in Northern Ireland, leaving them without the means or the belief to break free or rebuild their lives.

This 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we’re calling attention to the economic barriers that keep women trapped and the services that help them break free.

Our Building Futures programme, delivered in partnership with Bolster Community  and Women in Business NI, gives women the skills, confidence, and pathways into employment, which for many women that experience domestic abuse, helps to restore independence and safety. Since 2023, our programme has supported over 592 women from the greater Belfast and Newry, Mourne and Down areas and has recently expanded to the Derry City and Strabane and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon areas.

Building Futures is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and that funding ends in March 2026. With no clarity from Government, programmes like ours, lifelines for many women, risk disappearing overnight.

Women’s safety cannot wait. Economic security isn’t a luxury, it’s essential.

We call on decision-makers to act now: provide clarity, protect services, and safeguard women’s futures.