Feminist Campaigners Take Over The London Underground

Feminist action group Sisters Uncut have replaced tube adverts on the London Underground to highlight the impact of cuts to women's services ahead of the Autumn Statement on Wednesday. The group, flanked by around 600 supporters, also blocked bridges around the UK on Sunday to demand funding for domestic violence services and draw attention to the way Theresa May is “blocking migrant domestic violence survivors’ bridges to safety”, they said. "You block our bridges, we block yours", reads one of the posters, adding that four out of five women of colour who approach women's refuges for help are turned away. The group is campaigning for funding for specialist BME services. Another poster references Prime Minister Theresa May’s pledge of £20m of temporary funding for domestic violence services, which the group claims is like "sticking a plaster on a haemorrhage". Another ad says the group "demand[s] a strategic plan for all domestic violence survivors, regardless of immigration status, that supports black and brown, disabled and LGBT+ survivors." The posters have so far been spotted on the Circle line, Northern line, Victoria line and the London Overground.

“Many of the services lost in austerity were set up and run by women of colour for women of colour, because generic services did not meet their needs," the group said in a statement. "Those needs remain unmet, and women of colour and migrant survivors remain more likely to be trapped in violence, without any support.” They added that migrant women fleeing domestic violence are particularly at risk because “no recourse to public funds” restrictions mean they can't access refuges or benefits, and may remain trapped and in fear of violence. “As domestic violence services shrink, Sisters Uncut will continue to grow," said Nadine, a member of Sisters Uncut. "We will not stand by as black and brown survivors are left stranded in abusive homes without the bridges to safety provided by specialist domestic violence services, while migrant survivors with ‘no recourse to public funds’ find all of their bridges blocked by the government’s immigration policies.” Sisters Uncut has become known for its bold awareness-raising stunts since it was formed in 2014. Last October they jumped onto the red carpet at the premier of Suffragette, and dyed the fountains at Trafalgar Square red to resemble the blood of women killed by domestic violence.