Three charities working out of Birmingham have revealed how they are supporting a new five-year programme from Comic Relief aimed at using sport to tackle violence and abuse against women and girls, and promote positive masculinity. Ellie Davis reports for ConnectSport.

Birmingham-based Roshni, Solihull & Birmingham Women’s Aid, and the West Midlands arm of the national Respect charity will receive support from the recently-launched £3.9million ‘Tackling Harmful Norms’ fund. They are three of seven specialist community-led organisations across London and the West Midlands that are using sports and physical activity like football, cricket and netball, to help implement early interventions that encourage boys and young men to become role models and leaders while also championing a culture of respect and healthy masculinity.

Over two million women in the UK are estimated to be affected by male violence each year. The Comic Relief fund aims to create positive, safe spaces for individuals where sport is not just a diversion from harm but can help to develop positive relationships and a sense of belonging. This includes tackling gender stereotypes which translates into other areas of society.

Former England Lionesses goalkeeper Mary Earps, who is supporting the Fund, commenting: “Comic Relief is using the power of sport to reach young boys, to support and educate them, and build allies to challenge harmful behaviour. This work will create strong role models in our communities, promote healthy attitudes, and build a safer world for women and girls so everyone can thrive.”

The three organisations are:

SOLIHULL & BIRMINGHAM WOMEN'S AID

This charity was founded in the late 1970s and offers refuge and support services to women and children experiencing domestic abuse in the region. It provides trained volunteers in a range of public areas such as hospitals and police stations, and provides support in court cases. On top of this, there are six refuge centres aimed at helping a range of women who experience domestic abuse differently, from abuse in young relationships to immigrant women with no access to public funds or those facing honour-based abuse. Between 2024 and 2025, they supported 5061 women through casework and received over 26,000 help-line calls.

With the funding from Comic Relief, the charity is partnering with Warwickshire Cricket Club to provide sessions for young people. The coaches will be trained to discuss mutual respect and stereotypes of women in sporting and leadership positions, to then lead onto an age-appropriate discussion about domestic abuse. Head of Service Sally Dennis said: “We will be adjusting the programme all the time to better meet the needs of the children we are working with. We are not under any illusions we are going to end violence against women and girls by doing this, but what we are doing is giving them tools so they know where they can go to for help.”

Find out more at bswaid.org

ROSHNI

Roshni works primarily with women and girls of South Asian heritage to prevent domestic abuse, but also to empower young girls to break traditional cultural views and have aspirations other than to get married young. Through multi-lingual services, it aims to challenge the mindsets of young males who may believe girls should not be working, as well as hosting trauma therapy, refuges and running an honour-based abuse helpline. The organisation helps between 800 and 1,000 women from black and ethnic minority backgrounds each year.

With the funding from Comic Relief, Roshni intends to use sport as a springboard to build rapport with young people aged 11 to 14. This will then move on to age-appropriate open discussions about domestic abuse and how inspiring girls to pursue their own career and income, can provide a sense of freedom. Project manager Shaila Pervrez explained: “I go out to schools, colleges, universities with the police and social services, and I’ve realised I’m picking up a pattern. The pattern was how girls had no aspirations and they didn’t really try hard in their GCSEs, as a lot of these girls believed that after school they would be getting married, so there was no reason really to apply themselves. This is why the project was born really.”

Find out more at roshnibirmingham.org.uk

RESPECT

Respect’s approach is about developing interventions for young people who may be demonstrating harmful behaviours in their relationships. It was initially founded as a women’s refuge before CEO Jo Todd noticed patterns emerging around cycles of abuse, and decided to focus on early interventions in young people who were presenting worrying symptoms. It now works to train young professionals such as teachers and social workers across the country.

With the funding from Comic Relief, Respect plans to expand its existing toolkit ‘The Dating Detox’ which teaches young people about healthy relationships, masculinity and gender equality. Alongside this, the charity will train sports coaches and mentors to deliver the sessions, and co-design sessions with input from young people. Just as with the approaches of Roshni and Solihull & Birmingham Women’s Aid, sport is being used as the hook to build relationships with young people, and encourage them to participate. Alice Lilley, who is Implentation Lead for the Young People’s Programme, revealed: “Our focus is very much on prevention and early intervention, changing beliefs and changing attitudes. This funding is about positive masculinity and positive relationships, so it just felt like a really good fit for us.”

Find out more at respect.org.uk

Comic Relief is one of the UK’s leading ‘sport for change’ funders having funded over 500 projects over the last two decades. Find out more about the Tackling Harmful Norms Fund.

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