Joint statement: The UK must not abandon women and girls in crisis

63 organisations, including CARE International UK, have signed a joint statement calling on the Government to rethink a ‘shameful’ move which contradicts Labour's manifesto promise to put women and girls at the heart of its foreign policy:

The UK is poised to deliver the worst aid budget for women and girls on record [1]. As a coalition of organisations working toward a gender-just world both in the UK and overseas, we are deeply alarmed by the shameful proposal to eradicate standalone aid funding for gender equality.

Cutting just one of the UK’s programmes that prevents violence against women – allegedly a cross-department priority of the Government – would put more than one million women and children at increased risk of violence worldwide [2]. This contradicts Labour’s manifesto promise to uphold human rights, particularly those of women and girls, within its foreign and development policy. Backtracking on that pledge now would lay bare its moral and strategic failure and cast a dark shadow over the Government’s commitment to dignity and justice for all.

Without investment that specifically supports women and girls, specialised services for survivors of rape will disappear, girls will miss out on education, and women will continue to be excluded from positions of power and influence. These decisions aren’t simply about numbers on a balance sheet – they are choices that determine whether women and girls live in safety, go to school, or access healthcare. Behind every cut is a person whose life and future are at stake.

Previous cuts led to the scaling back or closure of essential humanitarian programmes in countries such as Yemen, South Sudan, and Afghanistan. Over half of women’s rights organisations surveyed across the Global South, which are leading life-saving work, have already reported facing closure within the next six months as a result of aid cuts.

The British public recognise how critical this is. New polling [3] shows that a significant majority (63 per cent) think the aid budget should be used to protect women’s and girls’ rights, rising to almost 8 in 10 Labour supporters. Yet just 37 per cent of Britons believe the UK Government cares about the rights of women and girls. The Government must listen to voters.

When gender-focused funding disappears, so do the basic rights and protections important to us all. That’s why funding that prioritises gender equality – currently just 12 per cent of all UK aid – must be protected from the cuts.

At a time when women’s rights are being rolled back globally, we urge the UK Government to reverse course. It otherwise risks sending the message that the rights and lives of women and girls are expendable.

Signed:

50:50 NI, Aoife Clements, CEO
ActionAid UK, Hannah Bond, Co-CEO
Age International, Alison Marshall, CEO
Anawim Birmingham Centre for Women, Joy Doal, CEO
BOND, Romilly Greenhill, CEO
Basic Needs and CBM UK (Global Disability Inclusion), Kirsty Smith, CEO and Bond Chair
BBINC, Renee Olende, CEO
Black Equity Organisation, Timi Okuwa, CEO
Bloody Good Period, Elysha Paige, Interim CEO
CAFOD, Christine Allen, Director
CARE International UK, Helen McEachern, CEO
Centenary Action, Helen Pankhurst, Convenor
CHASE Africa, Harriet Gordon-Brown, CEO
Chemonics UK, Louise Quy, Managing Director
Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Dhivya O’Connor, CEO
Concern Worldwide UK, Sayyeda Salam, Executive Director
Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS UK), Eva Tabbasam, Director
Gender and Development Network, Jessica Woodroffe, Co-Director
Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage, Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell, CEO
Global Citizen, Zara Taylor-Jackson, UK Director
Hand in Hand International, Amalia Johnsson, CEO
Health Poverty Action (HPA), Martin Drewry, CEO
IAW / WWAFE (Women Worldwide Advancing Freedom & Equality), Dr Jocelynne A Scutt, Member IAW and Chair and Trustee
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Tom Mitchell, Executive Director
International Rescue Committee, Flora Alexander, UK Executive Director
Ipas, Dr. Anu Kumar, CEO
Kernow Soroptimists, Jennie Walker
Malala Fund, Lena Alfi, CEO
Margaret Pyke Trust, David Johnson, Chief Executive
MSI Reproductive Choices, Simon Cooke, CEO
National Council of Women Great Britain, Jilly Rogers, President
ONE Campaign, Adrian Lovett, Executive Director
Options, James Harcourt, Managing Director
Orchid Project, Anush Aghabalyan, Head of Advocacy and Policy
Oxfam GB, Halima Begum, CEO
Peace Direct, Dylan Mathews, Chief Executive
PHOEBE Centre, Mollin Delve, CEO
Plan International UK, Rose Caldwell, CEO
Practical Action, Sarah Roberts, CEO
Project Everyone, Piers Bradford, CEO
Refuge, Gemma Sherrington, CEO
Restless Development, Alex Kent, Co-CEO
Restored, Bekah Legg, CEO
Results UK, Kitty Arie, CEO
Saferworld, Susana Klien, CEO
Save the Children UK, Lisa Wise, Director of Global Policy, Advocacy, and Research
She Speaks We Hear, Sharmeen Ziauddin, Editor in Chief
Social Development Direct, Sue Griffiths, Managing Director
SOS Children’s Villages UK, Alison Wallace, CEO
Southall Black Sisters, Selma Taha, Executive Director
Tearfund, Nigel Harris, CEO
The Circle, Raakhi Shah, CEO
The WI, Melissa Green, CEO
Trócaire, Caoimhe de Barra, CEO
UK Women’s Budget Group, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, Director
WaterAid, Tim Wainwright, Chief Executive
Water Witness, Lexi Parfitt, Director of Campaigns and Communications
White Ribbon Alliance UK, Julie Boddy, CEO
WILPF UK (Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom UK), Fiona McOwan, Secretary and Director
Womankind Worldwide, Disha Sughand and Diana Njuguna, Co-CEOs
Women for Women International – UK, Sara Bowcutt, Managing Director
World Vision UK, Fola Komolafe, CEO
Young Women's Trust, Claire Reindorp, CEO

Notes to editors

[1] The UK began recording its spending on gender equality in 2014 through use of the OECD-DAC marker.

[2] The ‘What Works’ programme, which aims to support one million women and girls at risk of violence globally, is at risk of closure under the Government’s plan.

[3] All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,070 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 15th - 16th May 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).