WOMEN poured onto the streets of central London on Saturday to demand an end to systemic violence and oppression inflicted on women around the globe.

Protesters at the Million Women’s March following International Women’s Day shouted: “Power to the women,” and “Say it once, say it again: no excuse for violent men.”

Others held signs reading: “We will not be silenced,” and “Women in Sudan, Palestine and Congo are used as war weapons” as they marched from Duke Street to Trafalgar Square.

A double-decker “access” bus accompanied the protest draped in a banner reading: “End genocide! Collective liberation now!” in reference to the bloodshed in Gaza, which has killed over 20,000 women and children.

IMECE Women’s Centre, Latin American Women’s Rights Service, Bradford Solidarity Campaign, Southhall Black Sisters, Lesbian Labour and FiLia were among those who joined the protest, the 18th march organised by the Million Women Rise network.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 1.4 million women experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2023, yet few abusers face prosecution for violence against women. Police recorded 889,918 domestic abuse-related cases, yet there were only 51,288 domestic abuse-related prosecutions.

According to the latest figures from End Violence Against Women, 67,938 rape offences were recorded by British police in 2023 — but there were only 2,008 rape convictions. 

Figures from Counting Dead Women issued in December showed that at least 97 women in Britain had been killed in 2023 by men or had men as the principal suspect.