It's the final day of The Female First Awards 2018 and here's where we announce our Heroine of the Year. There have been so many inspirational women changing the world over the past 12 months, so picking just one to get the title has been difficult. Still, we believe we've selected a worthy winner...
Nominee: Rachael Denhollander
Two years ago, lawyer Rachael Denhollander publicly accused sports physician Larry Nassar of sexual assault when she was just 15 and practising gymnastics. Since her brave statement, more than 265 women came forward with similar allegations and later testified against Nassar in court.
It was Rachael's strength of character that ultimately got the doctor put away for life this year after he pleaded guilty to 10 charges of first-degree sexual assault and further charges of child pornography possession. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said Rachael was "the bravest person I have ever had in my courtroom" and she has since been the recipient of Sports Illustrated's Inspiration of the Year Award, as well as the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
Nominee: Anne Norona
Like a modern-day Mary Seacole, Cornish nurse Anne Norona risks her life to help Yezidi people in Iraq who have been persecuted by the ISIS terror regime. Their homes have been destroyed, thousands have been murdered and kidnapped before being forced into slavery, and the ones that have survived have been left in exile. Travelling across country has also forced thousands more to give in to thirst and heat exhaustion.
Thus, in 2016, Anne founded the Yezidi Emergency Support (YES) organisation which aims to provide medical assistance to the Yezidis. In 2018, they opened their first antenatal clinic in Sinjar, and this year Anne returned to Iraq to administer medication for a variety of diseases, funding her trips by giving Botox injections in Britain.
Nominee: Whitney Wolfe Herd
Dating apps might seem like the perfect excuse for men to treat women like objects and use them for their own sexual gratification, and that's why Whitney Wolfe Herd decided to create Bumble. As one of the co-founders of the hugely popular Tinder, she noticed a gap in the market for an app that allowed women to take a little more control over their love lives.
Women have a right to explore romance and sexuality without being subjected to unwanted advances from men, and that's why Bumble only enables women to make the first move when matched in a heterosexual scenario. Whitney has described it as a "feminist dating app", and the company goes out of their way to keep women safe from hateful abuse.
Nominee: Tarana Burke
You might think that the phrase "Me Too" only came about towards the latter half of last year, but civil rights activist Tarana Burke has been using it to demonstrate the pervasiveness of sexual assault since as early as 2006. Last year the #MeToo hashtag went viral in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal thanks to Alyssa Milano, which has meant that Tarana has been able to push her work to end sexual abuse even further over the course of the year.
Tarana is currently Senior Director at Girls for Gender Equity, and she was named Time Person of the Year last year along with various other prominent female activists. She has also been presented with the 2018 Ridenhour Prize for Courage.
- Day 1: TV Actress of the Year
- Day 2: Movies Actress of the Year
- Day 3: Reality TV Star of the Year
- Day 4: Musician of the Year
- Day 5: Video Game Performance of the Year
- Day 6: Author of the Year
- Day 7: Social Media Influencer of the Year
- Day 8: Comedian of the Year
- Day 9: Athlete of the Year
- Day 10: Villain of the Year
- Day 11: Moment of the Year