On Valentine’s Day men and women from across Cambridge took part in a rally in support of the One Billion Rising for Justice Campaign, which seeks to end violence against women and to promote gender equality. (Scroll down for video.)

The event was organised by a group from the Cambridge Women’s Resource Centre and participants were invited to ‘rise up’ and dance their way through Cambridge. The rally began at Petersfield and women, men and children of all ages, wearing the colour red, carried red glow sticks and placards proclaiming well-known song lyrics such as “R.E.S.P.E.C.T, find out what it means to me” and “I will survive”.

The bad weather did not dampen spirits, with many of the commuters driving past honking horns and waving to show their support, along with some pedestrians joining the march. Once the rally arrived at the city centre, there was live music from Flaming June, a FATEA prizewinner whose last two singles, Nerves of Steel and Rumpelstiltskin, were released for the charities Refuge and Women’s Aid.

The One Billion Rising global campaign began in 2012 as part of the V-day movement founded by Eve Ensler, an American activist and playwright most famous for her play The Vagina Monologues. The ‘one billion’ referred to in campaign is taken from a UN statistic which states that one in three women and girls will be raped or suffer violence in their lifetime, a total of around one billion women. In 2012, the One Billion Rising Campaign organised tens of thousands of events in over 190 countries.

The One Billion Rising movement was described by Eve Ensler as "global dance action" and as "a call for women to find their friends, their group, their place and dance". Emphasis is placed on the importance of dance and music within the context of this campaign, turning what is a painful and difficult subject into a celebration of female strength and unity.

Dr Jocelynne Scutt, a human rights barrister and county councilor who was at the event expressed the importance of female solidarity, arguing that “in this country there is a view amongst the police that the majority of women who come complaining about rape should be treated as false complaints.”

Anne Galpin, a journalist and equality officer for the Cambridge and District Trades Council stressed the importance of it taking place on Valentine’s Day, stating that “a lot of people are thinking about women and their loved ones, it’s a very good day for romance, but also for women.”

Video filmed and edited by Hannah Davis