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Women's empowerment group marks 10 years of action

Jon Wrightin Ipswich
News imageJon Wright/BBC Kim Trotter stands in front of a video projection on a stage, she is smiling. She has shoulder-length brown hair and is wearing a white shirt. There is a red medal ribbon around her neck, although the medal is out of shot.Jon Wright/BBC
Future Female Society founder Kim Trotter used her experience of being a single mother at 19

A community group which aims to raise "the aspirations and confidence of women and girls" is marking its 10th anniversary.

Future Female Society (FFS), an Ipswich-based community interest company, was started by Kim Trotter, who based it on her experience of becoming a single mother when she was 19.

An event on Tuesday at the King Street Cinema showcased the work of FFS, which has issued a plea for funding and for support from businesses.

Trotter said: "It's tough being a woman or girl. We know that from everything that's happening in the news, so we need help to carry on doing what we're doing."

On the 10-year journey, she added: "It's much harder work than I thought.

"Getting the funding is a never-ending kind of nightmare, but when you do get it, it's wonderful.

"I didn't imagine that we would impact so many people, that we would have women and girls still coming back to us now saying 'you didn't just change my life, you saved my life'."

News imageJon Wright/BBC Joanne Shackle smiles at the camera. There are blue cinema seats behind her. She has brown hair and is wearing glasses and an orange top.Jon Wright/BBC
Joanne Shackle spoke about how going to a coffee morning had boosted her confidence

Joanne Shackle was one of the speakers at the celebration, the first of several events planned for 2026.

Back problems meant she had to stop work, leaving her isolated and experiencing poor mental health.

She told BBC Radio Suffolk: "I joined [FFS] last year at the request of my work coach.

"I was very down. I thought 'that's not my thing but I'll go'.

Her first FFS event had been at the Wolsey Theatre, where she had "sat down, introduced myself, started talking".

She returned the next month, and then started to go to other FFS events.

"It was just really nice to be included and I just walked out of there with my head held high."

Woman2Woman, set up by Kim Trotter from FFS, aims to provide a safe space for migrant women to share their experiences

FFS's range of programmes include:

  • Girls, Where You At? where girls aged 12-19 use media to build their confidence
  • Woman2Woman, which uses radio to teach new skills to migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women
  • More Than Mum, for young mums to help build self-belief

Since 2016, it has worked with about 2,500 women and girls from 25 countries across 41 projects and events.

The More Than Mum programme is not running currently because of a lack of funding.

News imageJon Wright/BBC Four women sit on a stage, speaking into a microphone. There is a video screen behind them with an image of two women in a radio studioJon Wright/BBC
At Tuesday's event, participants in different FFS projects spoke about the impact it had had on their lives

According to the charity Plan International, which campaigns for equality, Ipswich is in the bottom 10% for being a woman or girl in the UK.

It bases the rating on factors including educational attainment, health and figures for incidents of violence and harassment.

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