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Community gathers in park to mark Human Rights Day
A small group of people gathered in a Bristol park on Wednesday to mark the UN’s Human Rights Day.
Words were drawn in chalk on pathways in St George Park, which is also the site of a moving installation recently unveiled to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls.
Organised by Raising the Red, the gathering took place beside the skate park at the junction of Lyndale Road and Lake View Road.
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Participants wrote messages as part of the group’s “Chalk for Change” activity, followed by attendees placing lanterns around the trunks of trees where the red dresses hung.
While the event focused on Human Rights Day, attendees also reflected on the community response to the ongoing red-dress installation, including a recent incident in which a man removed several dresses and placed them beside a bin.
Ros Martin, who coordinates much of the installation work, said: “We did have someone who was really angry.
“A man took five dresses down and put them by the bin. He said this wasn’t a gallery and his main concern was what he tells his eight-year-old son.”
Ros said the moment reflected the wider difficulty some members of the public have in approaching discussions about everyday violence. “All responses are important and let us know where people are and the difficulties engaging with things so visceral,” she said.
She explained that the red-dress project draws from an initiative by Métis artist Jaime Black in Canada, who originally hung red dresses to highlight missing and murdered Indigenous women. “When we started, we hung dresses in solidarity with First Nation sisters,” she said. The group has since expanded its work to reflect violence faced by women globally.
The installation has also received supportive responses. Martin recalled a mother walking past, who described the dresses as “dancing”, and said many people stop to reflect on the symbolism.
“We look at the colour red as a symbol of love, anger and blood,” said Ros. “We want to capture the women and girls as they were, live and vital, and not just as victims.”
Martin also described the group’s collaborations with teachers, who have guided students to reflect on relationships, safety and power. She linked these conversations to the everyday normalisation of violence.
“We grow up amongst a lot of normalised violence, misogyny and sexism,” she said. “Human rights belong to us all – they’re not negotiable, they’re not optional and they’re never conditional.”
The Human Rights Day event ended at dusk, with lanterns left around the park.
The day was summarised with a message in hopes that people will take from the group’s work: “Don’t hit, don’t hurt, don’t kill. Walk away, find another way.”
Main photo: Jemima Dawnay
Read next:
- Red dresses hung in Bristol park to highlight gender-based violence
- Hundreds stand in solidarity with survivors of gender-based violence
- Human rights group holds 40th annual garden party
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