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IKWRO, the UK’s best-known charity advocating for Middle Eastern and Central Asian women at risk of domestic violence, forced marriage and ‘honour’ killings suffered another blow yesterday when the Ministry of the Third Sector abruptly diverted funding of £750,000 from 35 small charities under the ‘Campaigning Research Programme’, including IKWRO, despite the existence of a Compact. The monies will be reallocated to 15 larger charities through the Hardship fund while the smaller charities may suffer yet more losses in the difficult climate of recession. IKWRO, along with many other charities, worked very hard to become eligible for this funding, which according to Ben Wittenberg, Director of Policy and Research, Directory of Social Change was awarded only to the ‘the best and most innovative campaigners.’ The decision has also been criticised by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Charities, Jenny Willott.
Diana Nammi, Director of IKWRO, was very disappointed by the decision. In a letter to Angela Smith she stated: ‘As long as grassroots organisations like our own are under extreme financial insecurity whilst dealing with difficulties of providing crucial, life-saving services for such a marginalised group, we will unable to work towards effecting positive change, and the social injustices and attitudes that lead to discrimination and violence against women will remain in place -- at the expense of some of the most vulnerable women in the country.’ Over the past year, IKWRO have fielded over a thousand phone calls from women at risk of violence, dealt with hundreds of women through individual case-work and intervened in 85 cases of potential forced marriage, ‘honour’-based violence, and ‘honour’ killing relying on a largely volunteer staff and minimal funding from individual charities and trusts, and private donation. IKWRO also recently lost a post when the Forced Marriage Unit and FCO declined to continue funding the position of Outreach Worker to the Kurdish community. IKWRO’s outreach work helped identify girls and young women at the risk of forced marriage and raise awareness of women’s rights within marginalised communities. The FMU recieved 46 high calibre bids against a budget of just £84,000. 'The Government is not treating violence against women seriously,' said Ms Nammi. 'We ask the Government to reverse this decision and to support organisations on the frontline fighting for women's human rights.' The Ministry of the Third Sector has been criticised both for the way the decision was made and the timing of the announcement. For IKWRO, it could not have been worse: ‘We learned about it on the International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women,’ said a volunteer. Please sign this petition for the reinstatement of the Campaigning Reseach Fund
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IKWRO 
