In April 2016, Glasgow Women’s Library was awarded Scottish Government funding to deliver our In Her Shoes project. The aim of In Her Shoes was to produce innovative and accessible prejudice reduction resources for organisations and institutions in Scotland underpinned by women’s experiences of intersectional hate crime and behaviours, exploring the way that gender intersects with hate crime and behaviour targeting women’s sexuality, disability, race or ethnicity, religion or belief and gender identity.
Over the last year, new resources have been developed on women’s experiences of intersectional hate crime and behaviours including a permanent training programme, workshop session plans, an intersectional hate crime symposium, online resources and a performance artwork, No-one Who Harms Me Will Go Unpunished. I Am A Woman.
The project has increased the number of opportunities for women experiencing prejudice, discrimination and hatred to talk about their feelings, opinions and experiences, whilst challenging their own attitudes and behaviours.
What Did We Do?
- We facilitated Experience Analysis Workshops to research women’s experiences of hate, prejudice and targeted hostility and to understand the physical and emotional harms suffered by women and their families.
- We facilitated Empowerment Workshops with women who have experienced hate crime to build the self-esteem to challenge the prejudice against them. These workshops explored historical and contemporary creative methods of black, lesbian and feminist art activism.
- We facilitated women’s Collective Action Workshops to develop a performance artwork combining performance with art activism.
We have worked in partnership with City of Glasgow and Glasgow Kelvin Colleges, providing students and staff with the opportunity to attend a live performance of the protest artwork No-one Who Harms Me Will Go Unpunished. I Am A Woman followed by workshops which enabled us to carry out research into attitudes, perceptions, behaviour, experiences and levels of awareness of students and staff and to engage staff and students on safe methods of bystander intervention and third party reporting of hate crime and behaviours.
“Some brave women challenging us all.”
Performance Artwork Audience Member
In March 2017 the project culminated in our In Her Shoes: Gender and Prejudice symposium, featuring research and input from academics, facilitators and women from a diverse range of intersectional identities and backgrounds.
Participants in the project reported an increase in their understanding of what a hate crime is, in their understanding of how hate crime specifically affects women, and in their understanding of the negative impact of hate crime on women.
“I’ve never felt heard until now”
Collective Action Workshop Participant
We would like to thank all of the women who invested time and creativity in the In Her Shoes project, and we thank Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre, LGBT Health and Wellbeing, Glasgow Disability Alliance and the Scottish Refugee Council for their support.
Glasgow Women’s Library is a Third Party Reporting Centre for Hate Crime. We can support and sign-post you if you have experienced a hate crime.
