Showcasing the charities supporting women and girls

Charities supporting women and girls are at the sharp end of a rising demand crisis impacting the voluntary sector.

Research published in 2025 by Pro Bono Economics and commissioned by funder Rosa found that nine in ten charities helping women and girls are reporting rising demand. This is far greater than for the wider UK charity sector, where two in three are reporting an increase.

 

Worryingly, only half of charities supporting women and girls believe they will be able to meet demand for support in areas, including ending violence and supporting healthcare needs. A growing area of demand that the charities are facing is increasing incidents of sexual assaults on girls in school.

 

The issue was highlighted in Netflix drama Adolescence in 2025 and latest figures released by the Youth Endowment Fund show that the concerns raised in the programme are justified. According to the 2025 YEF survey of more than 4,700 secondary school teachers, one in eight say there has been such incidents in their school.

 

Here we look at how better partnership working among charities supporting women and girls can meet the challenge of increasing demand. We showcase the charities carrying out innovative work in this sector.

 

 

Partnership building

 

Pro Bono Economics and Rosa’s report recommend meeting rising demand by building better partnership in the sector. There is certainly no shortage of potential partners with an estimated 7,400 charities in the UK focussed on women and girls and more than 300 community interest companies (CICs).

 

Such partnerships are needed to ensure that women and girls causes, including small grassroots organisations and large national charities, can share expertise, services, and administration so they can target more of their resources at frontline support.

 

Working together can also strengthen the effectiveness of their lobbying efforts, so that they can pool resources to carry out research and gain better access to policy makers. In addition, partnerships can help charities in the sector to apply for funding collaboratively rather than in competition with each other.

 

“Stop making us compete with each other and expend so much of our time clamouring for piecemeal funding,” says one women and girls’ charity representative surveyed by Pro Bono Economics.

 

Sharing information and data is also important so that charities can work more effectively to target issues with the greatest need as well as bolster their campaigning.

 

 

Helping refugee women

 

Among the women and girls charities carrying out vital specialist support is Women for Refugee Women, which helps more than 400 refugee and asylum seeking women to rebuild their lives after escaping often appalling conditions when fleeing their homes.

 

This includes offering creative and educational activities, legal advice, travel expenses, phone credit, and hardship support. “I want to become a nurse because I really like helping others,” says Mimi, one of the women supported by the charity. “But before that, I need to improve my English. Without this support, I wouldn’t be able to afford my English classes.”

 

Its priorities for the three years from 2025 include a pledge to “amplify the voices of women who have sought asylum” to a wide audience, through digital and social media, the arts, events, and creative projects.

 

 

Tackling abuse

 

Healthy relationships charity Tender’s work includes delivering support to girls and young women in alternative education and youth provision to learn how to recognise the early signs of abuse. Girls in such settings are “the most at-risk group we work with”, said the charity.

 

It warns that eight in ten girls and young women in such settings have special educational needs and are likely to have had negative experiences in mainstream schools.

 

In 2024, the charity received more than £24,000 from Big Give’s match funding campaign for women and girls charities to help empower 50 girls in such settings to prevent abuse, help them build healthy relationships, and to train staff.

 

Another focus is on tackling online abuse of girls and women. Its annual conference in 2024 was themed on ‘young people and misogyny in the digital age’ which included first-hand accounts from women about abuse and concluded that more support was needed in schools to improve media literacy and critical thinking skills among young people.

 

 

Gifts for women with breast cancer

 

Charity ‘Little Lifts’ provides gift boxes to women with primary or secondary breast cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy in the UK. These are “packed full of premium goodies proven to provide practical and emotional support during treatment”.

 

 

 

More than 25 items are included aimed at relieving the side effects of treatment such as nausea and fatigue.

 

“This box is not just a collection of items; it is a manifestation of compassion and understanding...your thoughtful gift has managed to uplift my spirits in a way words cannot fully express,” says Saba, one of the women given a box by the charity.

 

 

Find out more

 

Our 2025 Reimagining Service Delivery Summit unlocked new perspectives on service delivery and how charities can maximise value to service users. Click here to watch the session recordings for free.

 

Our Reimagining Services Hub features regular articles, podcasts, and webinars to support charities in delivering services. Click here to learn more.