Engender blog
Engender statement on the weaponisation of violence against women and girls
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We are increasingly alarmed at the way women’s rights and safety are being weaponised to demonise minorities across the UK. This kind of distortion of the facts only causes harm to individuals and communities and does nothing to end violence against women and girls.
As Engender, we want to add our voice to calls for action against the spread of hate and misinformation, and for protection and safe and legal routes to be provided for people fleeing war and crisis to the UK. We also want to express our solidarity with racialised and other minority communities who are being made to feel unsafe by hate speech, incitement of violence and far-right protests, including here in Scotland.
Men’s violence against women and girls is endemic in our society and is caused by gender inequality. Spreading inaccurate and hateful rhetoric only generates more violence and creates a distraction from the political commitments that are needed to address it. Improvements to our social security system, investment in childcare, social care, education, housing and community resources, are the things that make a real difference to women.
The false and racist narratives these groups are promoting ignore the fact that violence against women and girls is most commonly perpetrated by someone close to the victim. Last year, the UN reported that the home is the most dangerous place for women, with 60% of women killed by men globally in 2023 dying at the hands of a partner or family member. Two out of every five people arrested during far-right riots in summer 2024 had previously been reported to the police for domestic abuse.
Racism, Islamophobia and anti-migrant attitudes play a major role in the increased risk of violence that women of colour, asylum-seeking and refugee women face.
The UK’s asylum and immigration systems compound this harm, particularly through the brutal No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, which increases women’s risk of gender-based violence and restricts access to support, including refuge accommodation.
Engender launches report on women’s experience of the election process
Today, Engender has launched a new report: Women’s political journey: Exploring the election process and women’s experiences of abuse, exclusion and bias, including vital recommendations for improvement. Find out more about the report below.
“Someone said to me [during the election] and I quote, ‘we can’t win here with someone who looks like her.”
The political arena is becoming increasingly hostile, especially for women and marginalised women. 
Engender’s new report ‘Women’s Political Journey’ explores the candidate journey—from preparing to stand as a candidate, including all the interview and vetting processes, to being elected and what happens after.
There is still an image of the ideal candidate as white, middle-class, able-bodied, and male. For anyone who falls outside these categories, this means being prepared for additional barriers.
Our report shows that over 70% of respondents to a question on forms of abuse reported experiencing online harassment or trolling during their campaign. Only 11% felt “very safe” during their campaign period.
A survey respondent told us:
“I have been spat on, shouted at, abused and physically shoved countless times.”
Sexist bullying is a persistent problem within some branches and local parties, with findings indicating that disabled and minoritised women may be at increased risk. These experiences can cause women to question their positions and political futures. It is widely recognised that social media presents significant risks for women in politics, with Black and minority ethnic women at greatest risk.
57% of our survey respondents felt that positive action measures (PAMs) like quotas or all-women shortlists are ‘resented’ by some party members who feel their use is unfair or unnecessary. As has been reported to us, white men especially refuse to make space for other groups if it means sharing their privilege. Others reported only tokenistic acceptance of PAMs, reducing the ultimate impact of measures.
Very few parties are consistently collecting equalities monitoring information on prospective candidates. This is vital when it comes to ensuring candidate diversity and proportionate representation of Scotland’s communities.
Equal Representation Development Officer Noomi Anyanwu states:
“Abuse, lack of support, and biases were reported widely among our survey participants and interviewees. Nearly 30% would not recommend candidacy to underrepresented groups. It’s understandable considering what women must endure to make it as politicians, but we don’t want to settle for this.”
“Change needs to happen, so we urge political parties, governments, councils, and other stakeholders to implement measures and commit to equal and diverse representation. I want to see at least 50% women in our parliaments—for that to happen, we need to see a real culture change first.”
Read the full report including vital recommendations for action here.
3 Steps to Achieving Primary Prevention in Housing
We’ve published the second in our series of mini-briefings shining a spotlight on how to achieve a primary prevention approach in different areas of public policy with this new briefing highlighting why ensuring women’s access to safe, secure and quality housing is essential for advancing women’s equality and preventing VAWG once and for all.
Women’s access to housing is fundamentally shaped by structural gender inequality and other intersectional forms of marginalisation.
In Scotland, women generally experience less favourable outcomes in the housing system than men. This deepens gender inequality not only in the housing system but also in wider society. These factors can create an enabling environment for VAWG in the home as well as in the public realm, as women participate in it less.
When we talk about primary prevention of VAWG, we’re talking about preventing this violence from happening in the first place. Evidence shows the best way to do this is to tackle the root cause of this violence: gender inequality. Therefore, ensuring women’s access to safe, secure and quality housing is essential for advancing women’s equality and preventing VAWG once and for all.
Without access to safe, secure and affordable housing, women’s living standards, economic and social opportunities - as well as their health and wellbeing are affected - reinforcing gender inequality, which ultimately enables VAWG. The lack of intersectional gender analysis in housing policy undermines women’s safety due to things like lack of affordable housing options, lack of safe housing options, and a lack of gender-sensitive design and planning in housing.
Our new briefing highlights Three Steps Towards Achieving a Primary Prevention Approach in Housing Policy
1. Women are equally and fairly represented in policy-making roles
- Improve women’s pathways and career progression opportunities, particularly for minoritised women, in the housing sector
- Ensure inclusive working environments in the housing sector by implementing flexible working procedures,
anti-discrimination and harassment policies and women’s leadership initiatives
2. Policymakers consistently apply intersectional gender analysis in their work
- Collect and publish intersectional gender-sensitive sexdisaggregated data on women’s experiencing housing,
including for the Scottish Household Survey and Scottish Housing Condition Survey - Ensure Equality Impact Assessments are conducted at the outset of new housing policies and that these are
informed by intersectional gender-sensitive data on housing issues
3. Policymakers mainstream primary prevention in all areas of their work
- Increase opportunities for co-designing housing developments with women, especially those with lived experience of VAWG
- Embed women’s safety considerations into housing planning and design and decisions about the housing system, including on social security, service provision and housing legislation
Find out more in our new briefing here and follow us on social media to get the latest news on other briefings in the series, coming soon!
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
Amplifying Marginalised Perspectives Through Journalism and Storytelling
Migrant Women Press have launched a powerful new initiative dedicated to raising awareness about the specific and often overlooked challenges faced by migrant and ethnically diverse women victims/survivors of gender-based violence.
We are sponsoring this campaign, held within “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” from the 25th of November to the 10th of December. The project will amplify voices and stories too often left out of mainstream narratives, aiming to foster greater understanding, empathy, and change.
16 stories will be shared—one each day during the 16 Days of Activism—authored by migrant and ethnically diverse women journalists and authors from diverse backgrounds and countries. Each piece will explore how factors like class, race, gender, immigration status, disability, and nationality intersect to increase these women’s vulnerability to violence. Additionally, stories will highlight prevention strategies and propose solutions for combating gender-based violence.
Vital pieces released so far include:
- East and/or Southeast Asian women survivors remain excluded and unsupported in the UK
- From Newsroom to Exile: The Hidden Costs of Being an Indian Woman Journalist
- The impact of the UK’s housing crisis on black and minoritised survivors of gender-based violence
- Why Won’t The UK News Media Call Femicide A Public Health Crisis?
Follow along with all posts from Migrant Women Press on their website here.
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3 Steps to Achieving Primary Prevention in Public Transport
We’ve launched our new series of mini-briefings shining a spotlight on how to achieve a primary prevention approach in different areas of public policy with this new briefing highlighting why safe and accessible public transport is key to gender equality and preventing violence against women.
Public transport isn’t just a matter of convenience; for many women, it’s a lifeline that opens doors to education, employment, and essential services, all of which impact gender equality.
However, Scotland’s public transport system fails to serve women’s distinct travel needs, limiting their access to these opportunities and reinforcing gender inequality. Without changes, these limitations keep women from fully participating in society, impacting everything from their financial independence to safety and personal well-being.
When we talk about primary prevention of VAWG, we’re talking about preventing this violence from happening in the first place. Evidence shows the best way to do this is to tackle the root cause of this violence: gender inequality. Therefore, creating a safe, sustainable and accessible public transport system for everyone is essential for advancing women’s equality and preventing VAWG once and for all.
Without safe and accessible transport options, women’s access to critical economic and social opportunities is limited, reinforcing gender inequality, which ultimately enables VAWG. Women’s safety on public transport remains a significant concern and barrier to women’s mobility, due to things like lack of regular and reliable services, design of vehicles and transit points, and insufficient staffing levels.
Our new briefing highlights Three Steps Towards Achieving a Primary Prevention Approach in transport Policy
1. Women are equally and fairly represented in policy-making roles
- Improve pathways for women, particularly minoritised women, into the transport sector and career progression opportunities
- Ensure inclusive working environments in the transport sector by implementing flexible working procedures, anti-discrimination and harassment policies and women’s leadership initiatives
2. Policymakers consistently apply intersectional gender analysis in their work
- Collect intersectional gender-sensitive sex-disaggregated data on women’s travel patterns, safety and satisfaction
- Conduct Equality Impact Assessments at the outset of transport policy development to ensure this informs policy and planning decisions at all stages
3. Policymakers mainstream primary prevention in all areas of their work
- Increase opportunities for co-designing transport strategies with women, especially those with lived experience of VAWG on public transport
- Embed women’s safety considerations into transport planning, including in decisions on service provision, the design of infrastructure and staffing levels
Find out more in our new briefing here and follow us on social media to get the latest news on other briefings in the series on housing and planning, coming soon!
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Engender Briefing: Pension Credit Entitlement Changes
From 15 May 2019, new changes will be introduced which will require couples where one partner has reached state pension age and one has not (‘mixed age couples’) to claim universal credit (UC) instead of Pension Credit.
Engender Parliamentary Briefing: Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and Sexism
Engender welcomes this Scottish Parliament Debate on Condemnation of Misogyny, Racism, Harassment and Sexism and the opportunity to raise awareness of the ways in which women in Scotland’s inequality contributes to gender-based violence.
Gender Matters in Social Security: Individual Payments of Universal Credit
A paper calling on the Scottish Government to automatically split payments of Universal Credit between couples, once this power is devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
Gender Matters Manifesto: Twenty for 2016
This manifesto sets out measures that, with political will, can be taken over the next parliamentary term in pursuit of these goals.
Scottish NGO Briefing for UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
Joint briefing paper for the UN Rapporteur on Violence Against Women.
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