Oh My Cream supports the Women's Foundation

Can you tell us about the Women's Foundation?

"The Women's Foundation was created in 2016 and has since become the benchmark structure in France for women's freedom and rights and against the violence they suffer. Thanks to the donations we receive, we provide financial, legal and material support to high-impact associative initiatives throughout France."

How did the Foundation come into being?

"In 2014, Marie Cervetti, then Director of the only shelter for young women victims of violence in France, wanted to open a second one to respond to the urgency of the situation. A town offered her a building, but it needed to be adapted and she was far from having the necessary 100,000 euros. She was forced to abandon this new project, turning away hundreds of young women a year... At the time, and as is often the case, we said to ourselves "if only there were a feminist foundation capable of finding the means, partners, funds and solutions to develop our projects and defend our rights". That's when it all clicked, I couldn't take it any more, I told myself I had to go for it!"

"The dream was a bit crazy: associations dedicated to the subject, apart from a few corporate foundations, didn't exist. Money for women's rights didn't exist, or very little: it was the state's smallest budget, with general indifference. With a handful of volunteers, we believe that equality between women and men needs more means to convince more people, to advance women's rights more strongly, to provide women who need it with more support services everywhere in the country."

What's the key number everyone should know?

"2.6 billion euros ! That's how much the State should be spending onprotecting victims of conjugal, sexist and sexual violence in France, an amount estimated by the Fondation des Femmes in the report "Où est l'argent contre les violences faites aux femmes?". Today, the percentage of the State budget devoted to combating violence against women in 2023 is just 184.4 million euros, 15 times less than what is actually needed to support women victims.

Despite advances in women's rights, the number and severity of acts of violence in France remain unbearable. The increase in demands (+83% in complaints of domestic violence in 5 years, +100% in complaints of sexual violence in 10 years) has never been followed by investment commensurate with needs to support women victims."

How can you support the Women's Foundation?

"Women in danger can't wait. We have therefore launched an emergency fund to obtain additional funds to secure the devices essential to these women's safety, and to give associations in danger a break so that they can focus fully on their raison d'être: protecting and supporting women and children who are victims of violence.

We have already raised €120,000 since its launch in September, and we are calling on all those who want to help us to make a donation to this fund on our website fondationdesfemmes.org. Every step is a victory, and every little action helps : tell your friends and family about our cause, take part in our annual fund-raising campaign in December as a volunteer, share in our year-end campaign!"

Tell us about La Cité Audacieuse, a place dedicated to women's rights.

"La Cité Audacieuse is the first venue dedicated to the promotion of women's rights and gender equality in France, and for over three years now it has been playing the role of a third place for the promotion of feminism in the heart of Paris: welcoming teams from associations, women victims of violence and the general public. Every year, we welcome 16,000 people: employees of the associations we host, associations who record their podcasts in our studio or organize events, and the general public who attend conferences and training courses."

What actions are in place to support women's rights and combat violence against women?

"Our main objective at the Women's Foundation is to support feminist associations throughout France, and to do this we provide three types of support:

Financial: through two annual calls for projects (this year we redistributed 875,000 to more than 26 associative projects, but 8.5 million have been redistributed since 2016).
Equipment: for example, by making office space available at the Cité Audacieuse, immediately booking hotels throughout France to provide safe accommodation for women who have suffered violence, and organizing campaigns to collect hygiene and care products.
Legal: through Force Juridique, which mobilizes a network of pro bono lawyers to assist victims and support associations and conduct advocacy and strategic litigation."

What are the Women's Foundation's future projects?

"As 2023 draws to a close, the Women's Foundation is launching Coups de Pouce 2023. This call for projects will provide financial support for associations encountering financial difficulties and new projects lacking funding to be able to meet the various challenges facing feminist associations."

To find out more about the Women's Foundation and their work, visit fondationdesfemmes.org. And for Black Friday, we're donating €1 for every product purchased from our Black Friday selection in support of the Fondation des Femmes and the fight against violence against women.

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