Chancellor John Healey has announced a £15 million investment to tackle misogyny, with funding to be confirmed at the Budget. The money will support mentoring for young people, workplace training and public awareness campaigns.
Funding details and schemes
The Chancellor will commit £5 million a year over the next three years to schemes including mentoring for young people, workplace training and communications campaigns to improve women and girls' safety. The announcement comes as Mr Healey prepares to deliver his first Budget in the role on Wednesday against the backdrop of a difficult economic situation.
The misogyny prevention fund will support the work of a national taskforce established by women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson last month. Ministers hope the investment will attract additional funding from businesses and philanthropists to increase the reach of the schemes.
Ministerial statements
Ms Phillipson said: "Day to day misogyny – from sexist slurs and harassment to workplace discrimination – quite simply has no place in modern Britain."
"The time for talk has long passed, which is why this Government is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to supporting women and girls. This funding is a critical step as we work to confine misogyny to the history books, where it belongs."
Mr Healey said: "Every woman and girl deserves to feel safe, respected and able to pursue their ambitions – at school, at work and in their communities."
Administration and wider context
The fund will be administered through the Office for the Impact Economy, working with the Office for Equality and Opportunity, with organisations invited to bid for grants to deliver projects aimed at preventing misogyny.
The announcement comes on top of a series of "everyday fixes" set out ahead of the Budget to help people with the cost-of-living crisis, including replacing the Carers' Allowance cliff edge, which has penalised unpaid carers for going over their earnings limit, with a taper system. Andy Burnham, who is now in his 100th day in office as Prime Minister, has announced a string of policies to help people and businesses with living costs since he came to power.
