This year after the March for Choice (24th Sept) for the 4th year in a row we will host a Speakout, which facilitates people to share their abortion experiences in a supportive and empowering environment.
The Speakouts are one of the many stigma-busting and educational projects that the Abortion Rights Campaign organise.
After a rigorous and transparent application process, in Feb 2016 we received €21,996 from the Open Society Foundation to fund new and existing projects that help to lift the stigma and silence surrounding abortion and women’s reproductive healthcare choices. These educational programmes and awareness raising projects include:
Women’s Community Education Project which will work at local community level to educate women on the reproductive lifecycle, sex education and why the right to choose is important for all women.
Civic Education Training where we take participants through the political situation in Ireland, show how the Government functions, run through the history of our abortion laws, and explain why we want to repeal the 8th Amendment
And finally our Speakouts which we have secured funding to run in at least 6 locations all around Ireland over the next year and beyond. These Speakouts are a safe space where people can talk about their abortion experiences, free from judgement. In some cases it is the first time a woman may have spoken about her abortion, a powerful reminder of how much stigma still surrounds abortion in Ireland.
This funding is just one part of what helps keep ARC running. As a volunteer led grassroots organisation, with no paid staff, we rely for funding from various sources including organisations like OSF as well as funds from our online shop, the Repeal Project jumpers, Workers Beer Company and the many other inventive ways people have and continue to fundraise for us over the years. Details of all funding is available at the end of each year on the publication of our annual report.
Every piece of funding we receive goes back into the movement towards choice and change in Ireland.
