About Us .

An independent strategic advocacy and policy organisation that specifically focuses on the needs of black and minority women.

Project Resist is an independent strategic advocacy and policy organisation that specifically focuses on the needs of black and minority women. It draws on four decades of the frontline experience of its two key founding members: Pragna Patel and Rosie Lewis. They have previously led trail blazing specialist organisations and conducted pioneering and award-winning cases, policy work and campaigns in support of women’s rights to justice and self-determination in the face of gender-based violence, racism and social, economic and political inequality.

Project Resist is proactive in using opportunities and spaces for partnership and solidarity work with women and families facing injustice across social and racial divides. Without losing sight of the specificities of our experiences as women, our aim is to find ways of forging connections and supporting each other in recognition of the urgent need to develop shared political values and to move away from the divisive and destructive aspects of identity politics.

Our Vision

A world where women no longer experience violence, racism and injustice and can realise their rights and freedoms in all aspects of their lives.

Our Mission

Through fearless advocacy, we strive to challenge all systems of power, privilege and censorship that stand in the way of women’s access to equality, dignity and safety. We aim to use all the legal and advocacy tools available to remove barriers that prevent black and minority women’s access to their rights and democratic inclusion; to hold state and community institutions to account and to advance a feminist agenda for liberation and justice.

Our Aims & Objectives

01

AIM Roots

Engage with and strengthen strategic partnerships with a range of front line black and minoritised women’s organisations and others working on violence against women and related issues.

Our objectives:

  • Engage with and strengthen strategic partnerships and networks with a range of front line black and minoritised women’s organisations working on violence against women and girls.
  • Develop and strengthen networks and partnerships to improve capacity and strengthen knowledge base and resilience.
  • Identify key issues and themes arising from front line casework to support legal, policy and campaigning work.
  • Work in partnership to hold key state and community institutions to account.
  • Undertake research and policy work in collaboration with a range of appropriate organisations, experts and individuals.
02

AIM Resistance

Undertake high quality strategic legal and policy advocacy on violence against women and girls and related issues.

Our objectives:

  • Support women to use the law to challenge discrimination and injustice when accessing state and community support.
  • Undertake strategic litigation and intervene in legal cases of violence against women and girls that raise issues of wider public interest.
  • Provide expertise on the needs and experiences of black and minoritised women in legal cases where appropriate.
  • Participate as advocates or experts in domestic homicide reviews, inquests and other legal and public hearings.
  • Advocate on behalf of marginalised women at external forums and amplify their voices in the media.
03

AIM Solidarity

Draw on our work and experiences and work with others to defend key principles of democracy and human rights that we see as necessary to the realisation of women’s substantive rights.

Our objectives:

  • Highlight, analyse and critique state and community institutions, systems and processes that impact on the democratic rights of all women.
  • Create spaces and make connections between social justice movements that challenge sex, race, class and other forms of oppression.
  • Undertake and support campaigns at the domestic and international level in defence of key equality and democratic principles.

What We Do

  • We develop the capacity of grassroots and frontline organisations, by delivering training and working in partnership to challenge injustice.
  • We undertake high quality strategic advocacy, legal and policy work and campaigns that defend women’s rights and freedoms.
  • We engage with and strengthen strategic partnerships and networks with a range of women’s organisations working for justice, particularly in the North, where black and minoritised women face greater levels of discrimination and isolation.
  • We draw on our work and experiences to defend key principles of secular democracy and human rights, which we see as necessary to the realisation of women’s substantive rights.

Our Values

Our aim is to work towards equality and justice based on the following foundational values.

01

Feminist, anti-racist and anti-fundamentalist

We centre the lived experiences of women facing intersecting forms of oppression and discrimination.

02

Secular and socialist

We believe in the separation of religion from the state and in collective action for social justice.

03

Transparent and open

We operate with honesty, accountability and openness in all that we do.

04

Participatory and proactive

We actively seek to engage women in shaping the work and direction of the organisation.

05

Inclusive and supportive

We create spaces where all women feel welcomed, valued and supported.

06

Compassionate and empathetic

We lead with compassion and deep understanding of the challenges women face.

07

Respectful and centring solidarity

We build bridges across communities, forging shared values and collective strength.