Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland

Best Practice Award for Advocacy 2024/25 – Awarded to Soroptimist Belfast (Nov 2025)

Project: 16 Days of Activism – Ending Violence Against Women

A banner campaign was launched on International Women’s Day. Club members and volunteers throughout Belfast trained to make fabric banners with hand sewn messages, such as: You are beautiful, It’s not your fault, You are not alone, Stop Domestic Abuse, Women’s Aid (including telephone number), We believe you, etc.

To enable the production of banners, workshops were held in a range of locations in Belfast. This was a collaborative campaign with a diverse range of individuals and groups, including a Men’s Prison, Women’s Groups, Community Groups, White Ribbon and Women’s Aid. All 600 banners were made with sustainability in mind, using recycled materials. Banners were displayed in Belfast Community Centres and Libraries during the 16 Days of Activism (25 Nov-10 Dec 2024). Two MLA constituency Offices also displayed the banners.

The aim of the project was to raise awareness of the growing problem of ‘Violence Against Women’ particularly in Northern Ireland. SI Belfast are delighted to be recognised with this Best Practice Award.