This article references male violence against women and girls.
It's easy to feel powerless when confronted with the realities of male violence against women and girls. We know the stats. We know that one woman in four will experience domestic abuse at some point in her life. We know that domestic abuse has more repeat victims than any other crime. We know that something needs to change.
This International Women's Day, Million Women Rise will take to the streets for the 18th year in a row to march against all forms of men’s violence against women and girls. But as Esi Yankey, a spoken word artist, activist, and founder of Poetry Prescribed, tells GLAMOUR, it's not all about marching. “It's about sisterhood, about solidarity. It's a space where people grieve, where people laugh, where people drum, and where people can really feel held and supported.”
Esi Yankey was invited to perform at the march in 2019. Having never been to one before, she didn't know what to expect. “There were women there from all over the world who had come together,” she tells GLAMOUR. “I really understood at the end of that first march that it wasn't just about screaming and shouting and demanding change. Yes, that's an important factor, but it's more about unity, solidarity and feeling heard.” She is now resident poet at Million Women Rise.
Kafayat Okanlawon came to Million Women Rise [MWR] through working in the violence against women sector. The feeling after her first march was “unmatched”. From there, she got involved with stewarding the march and, eventually, organising it.
“MWR is a space for everybody,” Kafayat says, “As women, we constantly have to think about how we take up space, and this is a real opportunity for somebody to come, even if they're alone, to come to the streets, scream and shout, and take up the space with other women.”
This year's MWR march takes place on Saturday, 8th March, starting at Duke Street and concluding with a rally in Trafalgar Square. The MWR website reads, “We march in sisterhood, solidarity and unity to protest the lack of action to address male violence. We march to remember and grieve the countless women and girls who have been killed through male violence, including through state-inflicted/sanctioned abuse.”
MWR is a space for women to safely release their emotions. “I came on stage last year, and I didn't realise I needed to cry," says Esi. “It just happened. Sometimes you need to shout, sometimes you need to rage, but it's a space where you can safely release whatever you're feeling.”
Gender-based violence is not inevitable.
The MWR is open to all women. Men can show their support in many ways (including cheering from the pavement) but are encouraged not to attend the march itself. “So many of our spaces are controlled and dictated by men," says Esi. “So to have a space where women can come together – by us for us – is really, really empowering.”
“There's lots of ways that men can support. They can look after the children, help with logistics, and drop and collect. They can talk about the march with the male friends, they can be allies, they can hold other men accountable.”
She continues, “It isn't about men not being there. It's about us being front and centre and taking over the streets.”
A better world is possible.
Throughout its history, MWR has been led by Black and global majority women. "It's important to see Black and Asian women at the front in the same way we're seeing other marginalised women, such as disabled women leading the march saying that we are still here, we're still alive, and we're fighting another day,” says Kafayat.
“We are still here as a global majority of women taking the lead; this has to be preserved but also respected.”
Esi adds, “Our focus is on black and global majority women because the murders, assaults and violence against black and global majority women and girls is less reported, and less supported.”
She continues, “Million Women Rise is a truly intersectional space, but one that really honours the story and the experience of black and global majority women.”
Earlier this week, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women Jess Phillips read out the names of women suspected of being killed by men over the past year, with new data provided by the Femicide Census. The most recent figures show there have been 898 female victims of domestic homicides over the past decade, 78% of whom were killed by a partner or ex-partner.
What do Esi and Kafayat think of Labour's pledge to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade? “Regardless of who's in power, the issues remain the same," says Esi. "And what we want to highlight remains the same. We want to highlight violence against women and girls, violence against disabled women. We want to look at the intersection of racist border policies and male violence against women. What action is being taken?”
Kafayat adds, “Our safety is always important, and so I think as a society, but also politically, regardless of who takes the office, we should be safe.”
For more information about emotional abuse and domestic abuse, you can call The Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247.
Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247, available 24 hours a day 7 days a week for free, confidential specialist support. Or visit www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk to fill in a webform and request a safe time to be contacted or to access live chat (live chat available 3pm-10pm, Monday to Friday). For support with tech abuse visit refugetechsafety.org.
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.
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