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Topless Women Form Chain On Waterloo Bridge In Climate Change Protest

Topless Women Form Chain On Waterloo Bridge In Climate Change Protest

The protesters say they are highlighting the 'vulnerability of women in the face of climate breakdown'

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A group of topless women have blocked Waterloo Bridge as part of a protest for climate change group Extinction Rebellion.

The was planned for International Women's Day to highlight 'the vulnerability of women in the face of climate breakdown' and saw 30-or-so women form a chain across the bridge.

The women had various phrases written across their bare chests, including 'climate murder', 'climate justice', 'climate inequality' and 'climate rape'.

Extinction Rebellion

In a statement on Twitter Extinction Rebellion London said: "We are here to raise the alarm as to what is happening to our sisters around the world and highlight that the climate and ecological emergency is your issue - it will affect you as a woman if our government doesn't take urgent action starting now.

"Furthermore, when natural disasters hit, which is happening more and more as a result of climate change, women are exposed to sexual violence in evacuation camps. Women who take action to protect their land from destruction are also targeted with sexual violence as a result.

"The climate crisis is a women's crisis and climate justice is gender justice."

Sarah Mintram, who took part in the protest in London, said: "It's mainly women in poorer countries in the global south that are experiencing the increase in violence but this will be the reality for all women if the climate and ecological crisis continues to go unaddressed.

"We are here to raise the alarm about what is happening to our sisters around the world and to tell women in the UK the climate and ecological emergency is your issue - it will affect you as a woman if we do not persuade our government to take urgent action starting now."

The group's claim that climate change is a women's issue is based upon a report from January 2020 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature that found 'climate breakdown and environmental degradation are driving an increase in violence against women'.

The group also cited figures from the UN, that found 80 percent of people displaced by climate change were women.

The statement went on: "Globally, women are more likely to experience poverty, and to have less socioeconomic power than men. This makes it difficult to recover from disasters which affect infrastructure, jobs and housing. For example, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, African American women were among the worst affected by flooding in Louisiana.'

Featured Image Credit: Extinction Rebellion

Topics: UK News, climate change