Judges: 2014

Stephen Naysmith is social affairs correspondent and leader writer at The Herald. He was formerly education correspondent, science correspondent and social affairs correspondent at the Sunday Herald. Prior to that he worked at the Big Issue in Scotland as news editor and was associate editor of the now defunct magazine Scottish Child. He is a member of the children’s panel, and has two young sons. He enjoys cycling, cooking and foraging for wild mushrooms.

Lily Greenan was appointed manager of Scottish Women’s Aid in 2006. Lily has been active in work to challenge violence against women for almost 30 years. She worked for Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, as an unpaid support worker and as a development worker, between 1981 and 1999. As chair of the Promoting Women’s Safety working group of Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership, she played a key role in the development of Edinburgh’s first multi-agency strategy to tackle violence against women.

She moved to NHS Lanarkshire in 1999 where she established the EVA Project (now known as EVA Services), and managed a multidisciplinary team delivering counselling, clinical psychology and advocacy services to women with experience of violence and abuse. As a member of the North Lanarkshire Domestic Abuse Working Group she supported the development and early implementation of the first pilot Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) in Scotland.

Anni Donaldson is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Strathclyde, lead officer for Violence Against Women at West Dunbartonshire Council and Chair of the National Violence Against Women Network. She is also a journalist, blogger and columnist.

Anni was the winner of the “Best Article” category in the 2013 inaugural WritetoEndVAW awards. The organisers of the Write to End Violence Against Awards are delighted to note that her work was nominated again by a member of the public for the 2014 awards. As Anni was a judge this year, the work wasn’t able to be submitted for consideration. However, her repeat nomination shows, that although there is much work to do, writers like Anni and initiatives like the Write to End Violence Against Women Awards are reaching the public and helping to challenge and change for the better media narratives about Violence Against Women and gender inequality.

Talat Yaqoob has been working in campaigning and learning and development roles throughout her career. She has worked on tackling violence against women and supporting young women and girls. She has campaigned on international development, education rights and mental health. She writes a regular feminist blog and feminist commentary for an online magazine.

Vonnie Sandlan is currently the Women’s Officer for the National Union of Students in Scotland, campaigning to promote, defend and extend the rights of students. Vonnie is a qualified early years practitioner with a background in arts provision for children, and youth work volunteering is close to her heart. She is a Beaver Scout leader in my local area, working primarily with the youngest age range. She also sits on the board for Who Cares? Scotland which is the only national organisation providing independent advocacy, support and advice to looked after young people. She spent a year as an elected voluntary officer with the National Union of Students in Scotland, and currently advises Equate Scotland and Engender in a voluntary capacity.

Sandy Brindley is the National Coordinator for Rape Crisis Scotland, which is the national office for rape crisis in Scotland. She is responsible for coordinating the work of the national office and informing the development of national policy, practice and legislation relating to sexual violence.