Fearless campaign

For millions of women and girls globally, street harassment is a daily reality of going out in public. From catcalling to unwanted physical contact on public transport, when women and girls feel unsafe in public it holds them back. ActionAid recently carried out some polling in the UK, Brazil, Thailand and India that showed a huge majority of women have experienced harassment or violence. But women and girls everywhere are speaking up to call out the catcallers – just last week, women all over the world marked 2017’s Anti-Street Harassment Week with dozens of inspiring protests. Read on to see some of our favourite creative anti-harassment campaigns from around the world.

If you switched on the news this weekend, you might have noticed something incredible taking place on the first day of Donald Trump’s presidency: millions of women, men and children in over 60 countries joined the Women’s March – a call for tolerance, inclusion and women’s rights.We were there at the Women’s March on London, along with more people than anyone expected! The march clearly struck a chord with many of us and, in the aftermath of this global moment, it’s time to ask: what can we do next to stand up for women’s rights?

In seven universities across Monrovia, Liberia's capital, a small revolution is happening. Fed up with sexual harassment and abuse, a group of female students is fighting back, using their own radio show to protect and promote women’s rights on campus, supported by ActionAid Liberia.Women Speak's different chapters work on different issues, led by the concerns of female students, but they all offer a safe space where women can come together, support one another and raise issues to campaign on – from sexual harassment to the right to wear what they want. 

Last night at 10pm, I was shivering in the dark outside the Houses of Parliament while wondering if someone was going to pop up and tell us off. Why? Along with other campaigners, I was there because of the incredible lines of poetry sent in by people from all over the world for our Fearless campaign to end violence against women. Read on to find out how we took your messages to the heart of government, and to read the moving crowd-sourced poem made from the words of over 3,000 artists, activists, students, campaigners and more.

If you head to London today you might see something a little unusual. This morning, mannequins appeared in front of Marble Arch to mark International Safe Cities for Women Day. Safe Cities Day is celebrated all over the world from Australia to Zimbabwe, and calls for an end to violence against women on the streets of their cities.So what’s with the mannequins?

A shocking one in three women will face violence in her lifetime. In the run up to International Safe Cities for Women Day, on 20 May, we’re highlighting just how much of this takes place on the streets of their own cities. Cities can have huge potential for the world’s poorest women and girls, but the constant threat of violence is holding far too many back. Here’s why ActionAid are shouting about it from Australia to Zimbabwe, and how you can show your support.