Nathalie Chieveley-Williams
Protest and Belonging:
The role of protests in challenging gendered public spaces
The role of protests in challenging gendered public spaces
Sarah Everard’s devastating murder produced rallying outcries by women throughout the United Kingdom claiming their right to occupy public space without fear for their lives. A 33-year-old marketing executive, Sarah was walking home from Clapham, South London, at 21:30 when she was kidnapped by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens. The officer carried out his pre-emptive attack on randomly selected Sarah, where he abducted, sexually assaulted, and killed her, dumping her into a pond in Kent. Following news of her murder, vigils and protests broke out criticising the lack of prevention and action by the Met Police. A larger driver of the collective community outcry was the sobering fact those tasked with protecting and upholding society could so freely abuse their power while women continue to risk their safety and lives while performing the quotidian task of occupying public space. According to a report by the All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG) for UN Women, 97% of women between 18 to 24 have reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment in a public space in the UK. Safe access to public space is an essential social right which, through extensive research, has shown to strengthen feelings of belonging, social inclusion, and improve mental health.
including strengthened social inclusion, reinforced feelings of belonging and improved mental health. What does this mean for us as a society when half of our population experience gender-based violence in spaces that are meant to promote social inclusion?
Henri Lefebvre’s ‘Production of Space’ is a highly influential philosophical work with reference to psychosocial and physical space. In it, Lefebvre argues that physical space is not just a neutral backdrop but is actually a site of social construction through human activities, power relations, and cultural meanings. Public space, therefore, is not merely physical but is imbedded with social and political significance. As sites for democratic participation and social interactions, public spaces are also where larger societal social inequalities and power relations are reflected, leading to the alienation and fragmentation of non-dominant social, cultural, racial, ethnic, and political groups.
Spatial Agency is a term discussed by Nishat Awan, Tatjana Schneider, and Jeremy Till explaining that the built environment is not just created by architects, but it is also formed by multiple actors, like users and communities, that inhabit the space.
These actors, can re-shape the built environment around them by actively engaging with it. It is also often linked with social justice and equity, as oftentimes it seeks to address issues of exclusion, marginalisation, and unequal access to resources and opportunities in the built environment. Thus, spatial agency challenges the social, spatial, and physical formation of the built environment to promote inclusivity and diversity.
Of all the regions in the United Kingdom, London has the highest rates of sexual harassment according to the APPG report. 31% of women were sexually harassed in public space in London in the last 5 years, compared to only 25% in the rest of south, 23% in the Midlands, 22% in the North, and 17% in Scotland. The tragic murder of Sarah Everard is a manifestation of the current nature of spatial agency in public space, and current statistics mirror those feelings of women in London that feel unsafe to occupy public space uninhibited. Although clearly documented, there seems to be a lack of governmental initiative to prevent gender-based crime in public spaces.
Throughout my work, I research and aim to understand how protests in London wield diverse strategies to oppose the gendered nature of public spaces, challenging how they nurture a sense of belonging and safety through spatial agency. Through their visual and spatial methods, protests unintentionally identify and confront the spatial biases within the city. This, in turn, has profound implications for the future of cities by helping foster a new spatial agency and redefining narratives of public space.
including strengthened social inclusion, reinforced feelings of belonging and improved mental health. What does this mean for us as a society when half of our population experience gender-based violence in spaces that are meant to promote social inclusion?
Henri Lefebvre’s ‘Production of Space’ is a highly influential philosophical work with reference to psychosocial and physical space. In it, Lefebvre argues that physical space is not just a neutral backdrop but is actually a site of social construction through human activities, power relations, and cultural meanings. Public space, therefore, is not merely physical but is imbedded with social and political significance. As sites for democratic participation and social interactions, public spaces are also where larger societal social inequalities and power relations are reflected, leading to the alienation and fragmentation of non-dominant social, cultural, racial, ethnic, and political groups.
Spatial Agency is a term discussed by Nishat Awan, Tatjana Schneider, and Jeremy Till explaining that the built environment is not just created by architects, but it is also formed by multiple actors, like users and communities, that inhabit the space.
These actors, can re-shape the built environment around them by actively engaging with it. It is also often linked with social justice and equity, as oftentimes it seeks to address issues of exclusion, marginalisation, and unequal access to resources and opportunities in the built environment. Thus, spatial agency challenges the social, spatial, and physical formation of the built environment to promote inclusivity and diversity.
Of all the regions in the United Kingdom, London has the highest rates of sexual harassment according to the APPG report. 31% of women were sexually harassed in public space in London in the last 5 years, compared to only 25% in the rest of south, 23% in the Midlands, 22% in the North, and 17% in Scotland. The tragic murder of Sarah Everard is a manifestation of the current nature of spatial agency in public space, and current statistics mirror those feelings of women in London that feel unsafe to occupy public space uninhibited. Although clearly documented, there seems to be a lack of governmental initiative to prevent gender-based crime in public spaces.
Throughout my work, I research and aim to understand how protests in London wield diverse strategies to oppose the gendered nature of public spaces, challenging how they nurture a sense of belonging and safety through spatial agency. Through their visual and spatial methods, protests unintentionally identify and confront the spatial biases within the city. This, in turn, has profound implications for the future of cities by helping foster a new spatial agency and redefining narratives of public space.