Campaigns

PINK PROTEST CAMPAIGNS

#ENDFGM

In 2019 The Pink Protest joined forces with anti-FGM activist Nimco Ali to push a bill through parliament to get FGM included in the Children Act. The Children Act 1989 (amended 2004) provides the legal basis for how social services and other agencies deal with issues relating to children. As of 2019, FGM is not included in this legislation meaning there is no legal protection for a child who is at risk of undergoing this kind of violence.

SUCCESS: Following agreement by both Houses on the text of the Bill, it received Royal Assent on 15 March. The Bill is now an Act of Parliament (law). Read more here.

#FREEPERIODS

In August 2017 The Pink Protest began working with teenage activist Amika George on the #FreePeriods campaign, calling on the British government to put an end to British period poverty. #FreePeriods was started by Amika George in April 2017, after the BBC published a report that 1 in 10 girls in the UK can't afford to buy menstrual products. On December 20th 2017 we organised a 2000 person protest outside Downing Street. WE called on the British government to put an end to period poverty. WE called for equlity and dignity and respect. Speakers at the protest included Adwoa Aboah, Jess Phillips MP, Daisy Lowe, Ayesha Hazarika, Paula Sherriff MP, GRLPWR GANG, Chella Quint, Aisling Bea, Shami Chakrabarti, Suki Waterhouse, Amika George, Scarlett Curtis, Grace Campbell, Tina Leslie, Deborah Frances White, Gabby Edlin & more.

SUCCESS: 10 Downing Street heard our shout and on March 26th 2018 the government gave £1.5 Million to address UK period poverty.

On March 13th 2019, The government announced a plan to provide free menstrual products in secondary schools and colleges in England from the next school year. The chancellor made the announcement in the spring statement, where the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast growth of 1.2% this year – a downgrade from the 1.6% forecast at the budget in 2018.

#GIRLSWANKTOO

#GIRLSWANKTOO is a movement founded by the Pink Protest which is set out to demystify the taboos which surround female masturbation. Masturbation, like orgasms, is a gendered issue. When a young man starts to masturbate it is seen as a coming of age moment. Becoming ‘a man’ goes hand in hand with being aroused by images of a sexual nature, and then touching yourself for pleasure. For this reason, the male orgasm is given special, dedicated treatment. For women, masturbation is an uncomfortable, shameful elephant in the room. Read more here.

#AREYOUANACTIVIST?

The Pink Protest's first film series was #AreYouAnActivist, a series of interviews with over 40 British Female activists attempting to unravel what that word actually means. Thanks to the internet, the meaning of activism truly has changed. We can now mobilise en masse online, and have meaningful impact on the world when we activate ourselves, both online and IRL. We believe that we can all be activists and if we just take simple, daily actions, we can all have an impact on the world.

You can watch the videos here and follow The Pink Protest on Youtube here.

#CHOOSELOVE

For Christmas 2017 Help Refugees set up shop at 18 Broadwick Street in London. From the outside, the Help Refugees shop looked like normal, Christmasy store. But on sale were all of the items that a refugee travelling from Syria to the U.K is desperately in need of. When customers arrived at the till, they bought these items for Christmas and Help Refugees sent them straight to those who need them most.

We made a series of films with some incredible influencers to highlight the amazing work that Help Refugees is doing. Read more here.

#SADGIRLSCLUB

On January 4th 2018, The Pink Protest organised the first ever #SadGirlsClub London event with Sad Girls Club founder Elyse Fox. Elyse founded Sad Girls Club in 2017. She had recently released a film, Conversations with Friends, about how she lived with depression and was being contacted by girls all over the world who wanted someone to help guide them through their own mental-health problems. She couldn’t help everyone so she did the next best thing: she created a way for them to help each other. Read about our London event with Sad Girls Club here.