Feminist Activism in the 1990s

Violence against women is one of the issues around which feminist activism has been most evident. In the 1970s, women organized refuges, rape crisis lines and Women Against Violence Against Women groups. Campaigns took place at local, national and international levels. In Britain, activism has included: Reclaim the Night marches; local and national demonstrations about domestic violence, rape and child sexual assault; the Rape in Marriage campaign; actions against sex shops and other anti-pornography protests; publicizing the names and actions of particular abusers; ‘zap’ actions;1 campaigns for safe transport; graffiti and poster campaigns. Feminists have also challenged agency and institutional practice-especially that of the police and the courts.