WEVAW Steering Group 2023

For our 2023 Write to End Violence Against Women Awards we are delighted to have the following people on our steering group.

Dr Miranda Barty-Taylor, Development Officer: Equal Media and Culture Centre - Engender

Miranda is a sociolinguist, researching women leaders’ construction and self construction in digitally-mediated news. She uses critical discourse analysis to examine how language upholds systems of patriarchal oppression and violence. She is also interested in the mechanisms used to maintain the status quo within institutions, particularly the cultural and creative arts sectors, and young people’s perceptions of gendered power. She continues to write and publish research when time permits, alongside work on race equality and the climate crisis for various charities and social justice networks.

Miranda is the Development Officer for the Equal Media and Culture Centre for Scotland, happily embedded in the Engender team. Miranda has a particular interest in intersectional approaches to feminist research, foregrounding the experiences of the most marginalized voices in Scotland.

Dr Margaret Hughes, Senior Lecturer - Journalism/Sports Journalism, University of the West of Scotland & Chair, Association for Journalism Education UK

Margaret has taught journalism for around 20 years and currently leads the journalism and sports journalism degrees at the University of the West of Scotland, preceded by more than a decade as a journalist working predominantly in the magazine sector, as well as on newspapers and in corporate communication and public relations.

In her research Margaret has explored a range of issues from the role of journalism in society, how the news media influence elections to the role of journalism education. She is very keen to raise issues of diversity and equality in her teaching. In her role as chair of the Association for Journalism Education (www.ajeuk.org) she led the roll out of the BBC 50:50 equality and diversity initiative across UK universities that teach journalism.

Pervin Ahmad, Strategic Development Manager - Saheliya

Pervin has over 20 years of experience in the Third sector including hands-on delivery, management and leadership of organisations and front-line services; pushing for social justice, gender and race equality and equality of opportunities for women and girls. Her current Strategic Development Manager role involves engaging with local and national policy and other consultations, forums and networks and providing training to raise awareness of racially minoritized women’s lived experiences and intersecting needs and barriers.

Karen Jardine, Campaigns and Communications - Nottinghamshire Sexual Violence Support Services

Karen has been working and volunteering in the domestic and sexual violence sector for 11 years, and is currently employed as a Campaigns and Communications Officer for Nottinghamshire Sexual Violence Support Services (Notts SVSS). She completed Media Studies at A Level and holds an MA in Creative Writing.

During her work at Notts SVSS she has set up the both the No More Rape Myths and Support After TV campaigns. She is particularly interested in the relationship between the media and the public, how they inform each other and how this can be used to bring about positive change.

Briana Pegado, Interim CEO - YWCA Scotland – The Young Women’s Movement

Briana has nearly a decade of experience as a senior manager in the third sector and creative industries. She is currently is the Interim CEO of YWCA Scotland - the Young Women's Movement an intersectional, feminist charity that supports young women's leadership, sexual education, and women from marginalised communities with work opportunities. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has a Master of Arts with Honours in Sustainable Development from the University of Edinburgh. She has sat on a number of charity boards as a trustee from universities to arts organisations and was the youngest chair of YWCA Scotland at 28. She is a consultant at The Collective, formed in 2020 as a research consultancy centring intersectional and feminist analysis, co-production and participation while challenging systemic inequality. Most recently she was the Co-Director of We Are Here Scotland CIC, a community interest company that supports Black and POC creatives to develop their careers in the creative industries.'

Amrita Dash, Interim Chief Operating Officer, Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre 

Amrita is currently the Interim Chief Operating Officer at Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. Amrita is an intersectional, woman of colour, feminist practitioner and has worked in various roles within the Scottish Violence against Women Network over the past 10 years in both frontline as well as leadership roles. She is also a qualified therapist, trainer and supervisor passionate about making therapy accessible and relevant for all but especially for people from minoritised backgrounds as well creating anti-oppressive and de colonial spaces. Her special interests within mental health are around sexual violence, racial and inter-generational trauma, identity and belonging.

Nico Ciubotariu

Nico Ciubotariu is currently a doctoral researcher with the University of West of Scotland, exploring gender-based violence survivors’ experiences, wants and needs, and impacts of physical activity. Previously, Nico served as the Chief Operating Officer at Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. Nico has been working within the Rape Crisis network in Scotland for the last 8 years, holding both frontline and strategic roles. She is passionate about combatting gender-based violence, improving survivors’ experience of criminal justice, equality, and inclusion. Her academic interests focus on feminist theory, gender-based violence, migration, intersectionality, and health and wellbeing.

Stephanie Grimshaw, Head of Public Affairs and Communications - Welsh Women’s Aid

Stephanie is the Head of Public Affairs and Communications for Welsh Women’s Aid, the national charity in Wales working to end all forms of violence against women and girls. 

Claire Thomson, Communications Manager - Rape Crisis Scotland

Claire Thomson is Communications Manager at Rape Crisis Scotland. She manages the organisation’s campaigns, media relations, digital, and participation work. She sits on the Advisory Group of the Equal Media & Culture Centre for Scotland. Previously, she worked in the communications team at Scottish Refugee Council and has a strong interest in migrant and refugee rights. She has also worked as a local newspaper reporter. She is a volunteer leader with Girl Guiding and holds degrees in English Literature and Art History where her specialisms were feminist literature and magazine culture.

Jasmine Mohammad , Director, Safety 4 Sisters

Jasmine Mohammad is the Director of Safety4Sisters, a specialist Black and minoritised by and for women’s organisation based in Manchester. Safety4Sisters is dedicated to upholding the rights of Black and minoritised migrant women with no resource to public funds, who have experienced a spectrum of gendered violence and face multiple forms of oppression and discrimination. Prior to this role, Jasmine worked as the VAWG Services Manager at the Angelou Centre, a specialist by and for service in Newcastle. Jasmine is the chair and co-chair of two specialist by and for northern women’s organisations: Ubuntu Women’s Shelter and Humraaz. Jasmine is committed to highlighting the regional differences that Black and minoritised women and children experience in the North and retains a critical eye on the intersecting oppression that Black and minoritised women face at personal, community and institutional levels. Jasmine also works nationally to influence policy change, ensuring that the safety, representation, and voices of migrant women are considered.