Would anything make over 1,000 women in the UK coordinate a demonstration against rape as they did in Chile, and then Mexico and then ... ?

[stumbledin]

Never sure of the political impact of flashmobs, but just for the sheer amazingnes of women being willing to turn up to demonstrate in this way I hope it impacts on the state they are accusing of being the rapist
qz.com/1758765/chiles-viral-feminist-flash-mob-is-spreading-around-the-world/

It was wonderful - sent shivers down my spine. Maybe the UK is too polite? Or maybe many young women have lost the sense of a feminist/female collective voice? Or maybe I'm entirely out of touch and they are already organising...

Yeah there should be a flash mob here.

Unfortunately, I'm a bit pessimistic, because I'm reminded of the "slut walks" we had all around the Anglosphere, women dresses in bras and minis, supposedly protesting but just doing it for Instagram.

The last thing the movement needs is a bunch of trendy liberal feminists taking over.

It says in the article it has spread to many other cities including London. Does anyone know anything about this happening in the UK?

They’d get threats and counter protests. Yes - they would dare to try to shut it down, or hijack it.

Is it possible that rape is much more prevalent/less reported/difficult to secure a conviction in those countries?

I'm certainly not claiming that we don't suffer from rape culture here. But Latin America has huge problems with toxic masculinity.

I can't really comment on other countries, but in the UK, I sometimes feel protests and marches in general these days are lacking in concrete aims or objectives and seem simply a way for people to wave around a few banners or signs for a couple of hours and then head to the pub.

I do think they can be a useful method to highlight problems on a general level and show discontent, but I feel for any protest or march to have an actual, lasting impact, it needs to have a specific focus or aim.
People need to know exactly what it is that you are demanding.

IMO a protest to 'end violence against women' doesn't have the same impact as a march that demands longer prison sentences for rapists, for example.

Sort of like the Occupy protests that didn't really have any actual aims or solutions and eventually it fizzles out because people get fed up or bored.

Protests in previous decades seemed to have very specific goals or campaigns and therefore the government knew exactly what they were demanding. Makes it easier for the public to get on board too.

There's still some stuff like that about - migrant cleaners demanding living wages etc, but a lot of other marches seem very vague and too wide in scope.

I agree that protests aren't necessarily effect and by and large are very dependent on whether the media reports them and if so in what way.

For instance Million Women Rise rarely gets any coverage.

Part of my question was about whether in the UK women are trusting enough of each other, and prepared to be public, to make a feminist statement.

I suspect that far from outsiders targetting any such demonstration, it is much more likely that some faction of feminists would counter protest.

Somewhere somehow we need to move feminist activism beyong the keyboard. While everybody fine tunes their clever writing women at the sharp end of the patriarchy are being left just trying to survive.

I guess a lot of women don't feel comfortable with the feminist label for all sorts of reasons. What type of community groups and cooperatives would women like to see who don't necessarily consider themselves to be feminists? What puts them off and what would appeal? What practical ways can women be helped?
For example, I'd be more inclined to join a book club or group to discuss how to spot potentially manipulative or abusive tactics in a relationship, rather than one that focused on discussing feminist theory.

As women come together over shared experiences, ideas can start to flow, trust builds and various types of activism and news can spread across different groups and networks. Women can be invited to other events and talks and marches through these routes.

I don't know. I don't have any concrete ideas myself. Just rambling.