Firstly, some background. I was speaking with a friend about her experiences as a woman going to music shows. She recalled a very recent experience at an event aimed at raising awareness and understanding of feminism where she suffered verbal abuse and intimidation from a male counterpart she had called out for a lack of understanding of the issues.

Only a couple of days ago I was reading an article in the Guardian that linked to another piece about the White Ribbon campaign being made by students at the University of Oxford. The campaign is a response to levels of gendered violence that appear to be prevalent across the Colleges of the institution and at institutions nationwide. The comments underneath both articles displayed an ignorance that is sadly common amongst many people. You can see both articles here:

http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2014/jun/10/why-wearing-white-ribbon-stand-sexual-violence

http://oxford.tab.co.uk/2014/05/26/oxford-students-to-wear-white-ribbons-for-exams-to-show-solidarity-with-survivors-of-gendered-violence/

I have read similar comments and seen various abuses on many forums across the internet: #notallmen; victim blaming; threats; abuse. Perhaps I have been a little ignorant to the frequency of sexist attitudes in society (though not of the ongoing struggles of womankind) but to me it seems that casual sexism (at the very least) appears to be on the rise.

Of course it's not just conduct on the internet that needs to be put under the microscope. I'm sure every one of us can recall at least one incident of everyday sexism and with reportedly 1 in 4 women having experienced some form of domestic abuse in their lifetime I hope you will agree that something has to change.

It was upon reading the articles above that I became more conscious of the work undertaken by the White Ribbon Campaign; an educational charity working with men, and women's groups, that aims to prevent and end all forms of domestic abuse. At the very least I hope I can bring attention to their work and raise awareness of the issue of domestic abuse and other forms of gendered violence.

So, on to my 'act'. A tiny bit of history: as we're all aware, it is the centenary year of World War I. At the end of the war, much like after D-Day and the liberation of France, women accused of "collaboration horizontale" were beaten and had their heads shaven in public. This form of public humiliation has been happening for centuries and is still meted out as punishment in parts of the world today often for petty reasons including 'crimes' such as adultery, simply as an act of patriarchy or as another form of victim blaming. So, seeing as I have been sporting long hair for over 10 years now, my intention is to shave my head in a show of solidarity, an attempt to raise awareness and in the hopes of raising some money for the White Ribbon Campaign.

http://www.whiteribboncampaign.co.uk/

If you are a victim of domestic violence there is help out there:

Women's Aid - http://www.womensaid.org.uk/

Refuge - http://refuge.org.uk/

Broken Rainbow - http://www.broken-rainbow.org.uk/

ManKind - http://www.mankind.org.uk/