Mary Macleod MP was joined by over a hundred participants and viewers gathered in Parliament Square on Valentine’s Day to stand up for violence against women as part of the One Billion Rising Campaign.  

A number of public figures spoke at the demonstration, including actress Thandie Newton as well as a number of MPs who have a particular interest in ending violence against women.

Mary commented:

“In the UK alone, over 300,000 women are sexually assaulted each year and 60,000 women raped. Violence against women should never be tolerated. As an MP and a woman, I strongly believe that our community must take action against these terrible occurrences to ensure that no more women suffer at the hands of domestic violence.

To the perpetrators of violence against women and girls, the message is simple: what you’re doing is wrong and won’t be tolerated. The One Billion Rising flash mob that occurred last week is a perfect example of women who have banded together and are determined to demand an end to violence.” 

The group heard from various speakers, who as part of their speech listed the names of women who were murdered in the UK in the past year, a chilling yet effective way to confirm that violence against women does occur daily and must be prevented at all costs.

• As the world population is nearing seven billion, statistics show that approximately one billion women will be a victim of rape or violence at some point in their life. One billion rising is a refusal to turn a blind eye to continual violence and to demonstrate the power of women in numbers.
• As defined by the UN, violence against women is violence “that is directed at a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately."
• In the UK it includes: domestic violence, rape and sexual violence, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, crimes in the name of honour, trafficking and sexual exploitation. It is mostly committed by men that women know or are in a close relationship with.