Crocheted roses raise awareness of VAWG

A group of activists is using craft skills to highlight the issue of violence against women and girls (VAWG).

Worcester Craftivists have crocheted a rose for every single woman and girl who has been murdered by a man in the UK in the past year.

The roses have been made into an art installation which is being displayed at venues across the city.

"We're hoping that through this beautiful piece of art we will highlight the shocking prevalence of gendered crimes and male violence," said Leisa Taylor, a member of Worcester Craftivists and curator of the project.

The installation also features information about the women represented by the flowers.

Ms Taylor said an average of eight women a month have been murdered by a man in the last 12 months, a figure which she added had shocked some installation visitors.

"I’ve seen people come and engage with it not quite knowing what they’re coming to engage with and doing a bit of a 'recoil'," she said.

"It’s pretty, but then it’s quite hard-hitting when you start reading it and once you realise what the project actually is."

Worcester Craftivists, which formed in May, describes itself as a collective which uses "the power of stitch to promote action to make the world a better place".

The group wants as many people as possible to see the roses.

"You hear about VAWG but you don’t often see it like this, represented in a different way that people can get involved with," said Ms Taylor, adding she hoped the project would encourage the authorities to take stronger action.

"[The UK's] defence budget is huge," she continued. "We spend loads of money on deterrants against perceived violent threats yet we don’t invest in our sisters, our daughters, our mothers, the women who we walk alongside every day."

The installation is currently on display at the Artery Studios in the Arches until 4 December.

It will then feature at the Reclaim the Night march through the city on 5 December, before moving to the Guildhall until 10 December.

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