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Million Women Rise (MWR) is a women-only march and rally against violence against women, held annually in London on a Saturday close to International Women's Day, 8 March. The march starts in Hyde Park and moves through Oxford Street in the famous West End shopping district, stopping traffic. It is followed by a rally in Trafalgar Square, with survivors of violence speaking to the crowd.
MWR has no corporate sponsors, and the organisers are grassroots activists without ties to large charities or NGOs. It was founded in 2007 by campaigner and former outreach worker Sabrina Qureshi. She was motivated in part by her childhood experiences growing up on a multicultural London housing estate, where violence against women was often treated as normal and unremarkable. She was also inspired by women's movements around the world, including women she met during a visit to Palestine and the DRC who continued their activism even amid danger and violence.
OUR REALITY IN THE UK TODAY:
One woman in four will experience domestic violence at some point in her life.
Domestic violence has more repeat victims than any other crime (on average there will have been 35 assaults before a victim calls the police).
Two women are murdered every week by their partner or ex partner.
One incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute.
One woman in four will experience sexual assault as an adult.
Only 5% of rapes reported to the police result in the perpetrator being convicted in court.
Women are more worried about rape than any other crime.
250 cases of forced marriage are reported each year.
Up to 1,420 women per year are trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation
One woman a month is murdered in the name of ‘so called’ honour.
Nearly 90% of local authorities do not have a rape crisis centre.
Over 20,000 girls could be at risk of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the UK.
Million Women Rise (MWR) believes that male violence against women and children is a global pandemic. Violence devastates the lives of women, our families, and our communities. It also threatens to undermine efforts to bring about sustainable development. Therefore, our campaign to end violence against women is an international struggle for female emancipation and liberty