Content warning: This story discusses gender-based violence and trafficking, which some readers may find challenging.

In India, gender-based violence and trafficking are a major societal problem, with one woman every four minutes reporting violence in her home, and over 60,000 communities identified as high risk of being targeted by traffickers.

A group of Opportunity International Australia supporters and Board Directors from Melbourne decided to do something in response to shocking women’s safety statistics in India.

Determined to respond, the group launched the Women’s Safety Giving Circle in June 2021, initially with just three members. Their goal was to empower and equip women to build a life free from poverty, by addressing their right to safety and equality. They focused their efforts on preventing human trafficking and gender-based violence in India, one of the most dangerous countries for women.

Connie Ridley, who was a former Director on Opportunity’s Board at the time, was one of the founding members of the Giving Circle.

“I’ve been to India and seen the work that Opportunity’s partner My Choices Foundation does firsthand.

“I was greatly moved by the work taking place there and the women I met who were participating in the programs. They showed amazing strength and courage. Women should be free to live a life safe from gender-based violence, child marriage and human trafficking, and in India, so many women are being subjected to these unthinkable situations.

“We have a power and privilege to do something about it, and I suspected there would be others here in Melbourne who were also challenged by these issues and keen to respond. And so, we started the Women’s Safety Giving Circle. Personally, it is a blessing to work alongside other like-minded individuals within the community here in Melbourne to help women in India.”

What is the Giving Circle, and how did it start?

Giving Circles are a form of collective giving where members come together to jointly fund strategic, high-impact social change for people and communities in need. Collective giving is incredibly powerful, as individuals’ contributions are combined with others, scaling-up their collective impact. Giving Circles offer members connection - both with each other as like-minded philanthropists with a shared passion, and with the projects they fund and the people they impact.

Fast forward two years, and the group now consists of 17 members who have collectively raised over $200,000 for Opportunity’s work in Women’s Safety. The group persevered through the COVID-19 lockdowns in Melbourne in 2021, holding their events online.

The Giving Circle has enabled the following impact to date through Opportunity:

• Prevention of human trafficking: 500 remote Indian villages have received the Safe Village Program, which raises community awareness of and resilience against human trafficking.
  
  
• Prevention of gender-based violence: 66 women have been trained and enabled as PeaceMakers (gender-based violence support workers). They have collectively reached 3,300 families with gender-based violence information and support.

Giving Circle members receive updates and insights from Opportunity about the projects and people they support, and the impact their gifts are making for women in need. They also enjoy the occasional opportunity to connect and network with each other as a group, via Zoom or at face-to-face events.

Supporting families in poverty through corporate partnership

Martina Stanley, Founder and Director at Alecto Medical Recruitment and Consulting, recently joined the Giving Circle and said she’s pleased that collectively the group can make a small difference in the lives of women and girls in need.

“Our team at Alecto Consulting had a presentation from Opportunity about the work they’re doing in developing countries,” said Martina.

^{Martina Stanley, a new member of the Women’s Safety Giving Circle}

“During that presentation, we heard some really challenging statistics about the abuse of girls and women in India, and we were shocked by the prevalence of human trafficking.

“After the presentation it became clear that, for our team, this issue was one that really impacted them emotionally. Our team members felt strong empathy for the girls and women who are impacted, and we wanted to respond by joining the Giving Circle.”

Martina’s personal passion for Opportunity’s work stems from the more than 20 years she spent living and working in developing countries in Africa and the Pacific.

“My time in developing countries showed me above all that we can make a big difference with small amounts of money and time,” added Martina. “Money doesn’t go very far in Australia, but it goes a lot further in these places. For us to give a small percentage of our income, doesn’t hurt that much, but it takes away a lot of pain for people in situations of poverty. It also showed me that they are people just like us. They feel pain and pleasure from the same things we do.

“Sometimes the cultural gulf is so huge that it is difficult to feel a sense of connection. But when we look past the cultural and physical differences and see the humanity in each of those people, we start to care and then we want to help if we can.”

Having now reached and exceeded their initial target of raising $200,000 to fund the Women’s Safety program, the Giving Circle will set its sights on scaling this crucial work in the future.

In late 2023 and 2024, Opportunity will take this community-led model of building safer communities to reach many more girls, women and children through the networks of microfinance organisations initially in India, with plans to eventually expand to other countries in Asia.

Integrating women’s safety initiatives into the work of microfinance partners will allow Opportunity to leverage their networks and the trusted role they already play in their communities. And no doubt, the Women’s Safety Giving Circle will be there to support and enable this important expansion.

Former Victoria and Tasmania State Manager, Olivia Myeza, said it’s been a joy to see the Giving Circle come together to achieve great impact for women in need.

“It’s been incredible to see these 17 Melburnians come together to form the Women’s Safety Giving Circle,” said Olivia. “Each supporter has a different reason for caring about these issues, but they have come together and demonstrated the power of collective passion and collective impact. I suspect this is just the beginning for the Giving Circle, and that up ahead they’ll create even greater impact for even more families and communities.”

To find out more about the group's collective impact or to join the Women’s Safety Giving Circle.

This program is supported by the Australian Government through the NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).