To mark International Women’s Day 2020 Zero Tolerance and Amina The Muslim Women’s Resource Centre created Chalk – five short plays about violence against women.

Chalk gives an intimate view into realities of everyday violence many women face. The stories of accepting the often-blurred lines of violence and abuse, of women’s drive to escape, erase and rewrite aspects of their lives, and of stigma which prevents women from seeking help.

Chalk lines are fleeting, and link in with the way that 1 in 3 women experience violence which can happen at any point in their lives regardless of their backgrounds, social status, sexuality, faith, ethnicity or ability. This violence isn’t always physical, and it can take many different forms: psychological, sexual, spiritual, emotional or verbal. These forms of violence might not cause physical suffering but still cause huge harm to survivors.

Sharing these stories is our call for solidarity, to draw the line and take action to challenge social attitudes that make violence against women seem acceptable and allow it to take place.

Laura Tomson, Co-Director at Zero Tolerance