Close the Gender Giving Gap: Women Need More Charitable Support in Wake of the Election

Close the Gender Giving Gap: Women Need More Charitable Support in Wake of the Election

PUBLISHED 12/11/2024 by Liz Roberts


Supporters of E. Jean Carroll wait outside of her civil trial against Donald Trump on May 2, 2023, in New York City. Carroll testified that she was raped by Trump, giving details about the alleged attack in the mid-1990s. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

Despite widespread recognition of gender-based violence, U.S. voters elected a president who a jury held accountable for sexual abuse and who openly disparages women—at once sending a chilling message to survivors and emboldening their abusers. Just days after the election, we heard from a survivor who reported that her boyfriend told her he could do anything he wanted to her because the president-elect could do anything he wanted to women. He then pushed her to the floor and, because she is a person living with a disability, she struggled for 20 minutes before she was able to get to a phone to call us for help.

In a political climate where leaders with alleged histories of sexual assault are commonplace, the risks to survivors are rising. Yet charitable support for women’s causes remains disproportionately low, despite women—particularly women of color—facing a disproportionate share of violence and harm. This is an untenable and dangerous situation. The need is urgent and escalating, but the resources to meet it are far too scarce. Gender-based violence is a pervasive epidemic. About 41 percent of women have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime. This number is startling, but it doesn’t tell the full story. The actual prevalence is likely even higher, as many survivors do not report abuse. We also know that women of color, LGBTQI women and those with disabilities are disparately affected. Of course, the consequences of gender-based violence are far-reaching, impacting everything from mental and physical health to long-term economic stability. The good news is that the national conversation about these issues has evolved. More people are speaking up, more survivors are finding it possible to report abuse, and communities are beginning to recognize the importance of supporting survivors. But these efforts are only as effective as the resources behind them. Nonprofit organizations play a critical role in providing survivors with shelter, legal aid, counseling and advocacy.

Unfortunately, there’s a significant gap between the scale of gender-based violence and the funding available to fight it. According to the Women & Girls Index (WGI) from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI), only 1.8 percent of all charitable giving in the U.S. supports women’s causes. This is despite the fact that gender-based violence remains one of the leading problems women face.The consequences of this underfunding are far-reaching. Charitable organizations that support survivors of gender-based violence are overstretched and under-resourced. Shelters are operating at full capacity, waiting lists are long, and staff are overworked. Programs that provide crucial advocacy and support for women fleeing abusive relationships—who must navigate complex social service and legal systems—simply lack the funds to meet the demand.

What’s more, the lack of funding for prevention programs and education perpetuates the cycle of violence. Unless we invest in long-term solutions—such as community engagement, preventive education and policy reform—we will only see these issues persist into future generations. As the end-of-year giving season gets into full swing, we need a collective shift in how we think about charitable giving, focusing on organizations that are tackling the impact and root causes of gender-based violence. We must also look for opportunities to amplify the voices of survivors and support inclusive organizations that recognize the intersectionality of women’s issues, such as race, immigration status, class, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.
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https://msmagazine.com/2024/12/11/gender-giving-gap-women-charity-philanthropy-election-trump/