Changing the world with women and girls - Cloned
ActionAid is a charity that works with local partners around the world to help women and girls living in poverty.
Our work ensures women and girls are safe from harm while being able to earn a living and to claim their rights. Crucially, we prioritise the rights and leadership of women and girls during times of crisis.
We do this because all over the world women and girls have less social, economic and political power, which can lead to their human rights being denied, even during humanitarian emergencies.
That's why we're fighting poverty around the world, we're ending violence against women, we're responding rapidly to emergencies, and we're changing the world with women and girls.
Read on to learn more about our work.
Responding to emergencies
During a humanitarian crisis we'll work directly with local women and girls to provide support and save lives.
Our approach in an emergency is to empower local women to lead the response. Local women know best what their communities need, and are able to get life-saving supplies quickly and fairly to those who need it most.
Ensuring that we work with women means we do not overlook needs or vulnerabilities that are specific to women and girls.
We'll also help to train women in leadership skills and disaster preparedness to create long-term resilience against any possible future emergencies.
See what humanitarian disasters we have responded to, and how we support women in these situations.
ActionAid worker Uthiya yea Marma is checking Anowara's body temperature before letting her enter inside ActionAid'ss women-friendly space. Cox's Bazar Rohingya Refugee Camp
ActionAid
Women protest in Delhi
Florian Lang/ActionAid
Preventing violence against women and girls
ActionAid works with and funds local women's groups and networks across the world, who train parents, teachers, local police and legal advisers to recognise the signs of violence and to report it.
We work to teach girls about their rights and help them build confidence, while also supporting women and girls to earn sustainable livelihoods so they can afford life's necessities without being exploited.
We have successfully campaigned to change laws around FGM, women’s reproductive rights, child marriage and domestic violence.
Our focus on these areas is intended to prevent violence against and girls today, but also contribute towards long-term improvements in women's safety.
Championing women's economic justice
We are committed to transforming the global economic system so that it works for women and girls everywhere.
This includes valuing all forms of women's work, especially unpaid and underpaid care work, while ensuring women have access to a living wage, decent working environments and social protection.
We also aim to challenge and dismantle the economic and social systems that keep women excluded and exploited, while calling for the redistribution of power and resources across the Global North and South.
Shiuly is a farmer in Bangladesh whom ActionAid is supporting by tackling food insecurity, the global cost of living crisis and the changing climate.
Fabeha Monir/ActionAid
Bose story
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From survivor to counsellor: Bose's story
Bose is the founder and executive director of the Women’s Rights and Health Project (WRAHP), a grassroots organisation that provides counselling and legal information for survivors of gender-based violence across Lagos in Nigeria.
Bose, who works as a nurse, set up WRAHP - one of ActionAid Nigeria's local partners - in 2008 to respond to the growing issue of gender-based violence in the city.
I was sexually abused as a child. When I was young I sold food on the street and helped at my elder sister’s restaurant. I was always the last to sleep and first to wake up. On several occasions, I slept outside where I was violated.
“I am delighted that women and girls who have been abused now have a place to go and someone to speak to at a difficult time. That was something I never had as a child."
WRAHP started with just two staff members. Now it has grown to 30 staff and over 300 trained volunteers working across Lagos.
About ActionAid
We operate in rural and urban communities across Asia, Africa and Latin America. Much of our work involves working with local partners, particularly women-led enterprises.
The majority of our income is the result of donations from our supporters. Whether you want to make a one-off donation or become a regular donor, you can help us continue our work.
Footnotes
- 1https://www.actionaid.org.uk/latest-news/three-in-four-women-experience-harassment-and-violence-in-uk-and-global-cities
- 2https://www.actionaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/actionaid_double_jeopardy_decent_work_violence_against_women_6.pdf P.9
- 3https://www.actionaid.org.uk/latest-news/domestic-violence-kills-five-women-every-hour
- 4Ellsberg, M. et al. (2014) ‘Prevention of violence against women and girls: what does the evidence say?’, The Lancet, Vol 385, No. 9977. Pp. 1555-1566. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)61703-7/abstract. Accessed May 2015.
Page updated 15 July 2025