16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
Operation Desperation:
What's Next?
Wednesday 25 November to Thursday 10 December 2026
The Playhouse Gallery, Derry
Fifty years ago, women in Derry occupied a building on Pump Street, an act of desperation that led to the founding of Foyle Women's Aid. For the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Foyle Women's Aid, The Playhouse and Verbal invite you into an exhibition that looks back on those fifty years and asks the harder question: what has to change over the next fifty?
THE EXHIBITION THE PROGRAMME CLOSING SEMINAR SUPPORT
The Exhibition
You start in a woman's bedroom in 1976: what her room looked like, and what her options were. A door in the wall takes you into the same room fifty years on, in 2026, to see what has changed and what has not. Both rooms come alive with archive, testimony, film and sound.
From there you arrive at the kitchen table: four mismatched tables on worn lino, surrounded by the history of Foyle Women's Aid. This is the heart of the exhibition, a place to sit, read, talk and listen, and where the conversations of the 16 days take place.
The exhibition draws on the work and lived experience of the women who took part in Operation Desperation: On the Ground.
The Programme
Across sixteen days, the kitchen table hosts talks, performances and workshops. You are welcome to visit the exhibition on its own at any time it is open. The full day by day programme of events will be announced soon.
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
Closing Seminar
Thursday 10 December 2026, The Playhouse, Derry
The 16 days close with a seminar that brings together survivors, frontline workers, partners and policymakers. Building on everything said around the kitchen table, it will turn those conversations into commitments for action on gender-based violence and femicide.
Speakers, times and booking details to follow.
Looking After You
This exhibition deals with domestic abuse and gender-based violence, and some of the material may be difficult. You can step out at any point, and there is always a quiet space to sit.
Foyle Women's Aid staff will be on site throughout the exhibition. If anything you see or hear brings something up for you, or you would like to talk about your own situation or someone else's, please speak to them. You do not need to explain why. Information on local support is also available on the tables every day.
Getting Support
Foyle Women's Aid
Support, advice, refuge and outreach for women and children affected by domestic abuse.
Phone: 028 7141 6800 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
Email: info@foylewomensaid.org
Visit: Foyle Family Justice Centre, 7-9 Bishop Street, Derry, BT48 6PL
Website: foylewomensaid.org
Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline
Free and open 24 hours a day, every day, for anyone affected: 0808 802 1414
If you are in immediate danger, call 999.
Presented by Foyle Women's Aid, The Playhouse and Verbal.
This project is supported by the European Union's PEACEPLUS programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
