Builders march up to Downing Street on hottest day in call to end violence against women and girls

A sea of luminous hi-vis jackets stride together through central London. Looking like builders on the way to work in a sweltering heatwave, it’s a different job they have today.

A sea of luminous hi-vis jackets stride together through central London. Looking like builders on the way to work in a sweltering heatwave, it’s a different job they have today.

The construction workers were marching to demand that men open up and challenge each other to do more to end violence against women and girls.

They walked 10km alongside families whose loved ones have been killed by men, stopping off at construction sites on to the way to Downing Street on Thursday.

Michael Alan Hook, who has worked in construction for most of his life, had tears in his eyes as he warned of the UK’s ‘epidemic of violence against women and girls’.

‘We have an opportunity to show young men, who might be a lost generation, an alternative pathway to have a successful career that they can be in control of’, he told Metro.

‘They don’t have to turn to people like Andrew Tate,’ the 61-year-old said, who is co-owner of LMG, a digital buildings service provider which organised the march with the charity Killed Women.

‘We have got men in hard hats and, you know, gnarled old veterans out there, shoulder to shoulder with the killed women’s families. I think that sends a powerful message.’

Malachi Lynch, a 19-year-old builder from Chingford in east London, warned of just how widespread domestic abuse is as he explained some men don’t speak out about violence against women due to fearing they will be seen as ‘uncool and cringey’.

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at [email protected].

Organisers behind the Hard Hats & Open Minds Walk for Change are demanding that heavily male-dominated industries confront abuse at home and in the workplace – urging construction workers to challenge misogyny at work and look out for warning signs that colleagues are abusing their partners at home.