Hundreds have marched through central London to demand an end to men’s violence against women and girls, misogyny and racism.
Supporters of the Million Women Rise collective on Saturday walked from Charing Cross police station to Scotland Yard, to highlight the harming of women by police.
They drummed, chanted and carried signs saying “Women’s rights are human rights”, “Girls just wanna have equal rights” and “The future is female”.
Many wore red, which they said symbolised the blood of women who have died at the hands of men.
They demanded a clear dialogue from police on tackling the issues.
They pointed to the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a Metropolitan Police officer and the sharing of photographs of two murdered sisters, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, as evidence of why action is needed.
The starting point of the march is where police officers were based whose violently racist, misogynist and homophobic messages were exposed in a report by the police watchdog last month.
Million Women Rise spokeswoman Sabrina Qureshi said: “Violence against women is widespread in our society, yet none of our political leaders are willing to truly take this on. We need change.
“From the disproportionate number of police officers who are offenders against women, to the clear back-slapping culture of hate, evidenced from the locker room to social media.
“Enough. We demand accountability. We demand a total overhaul and rethink of what and who the police are for.”
In a video message played to the crowd, Mina Smallman, the mother of the two murdered sisters, said: “It’s not on us to ensure our own safety, it’s up to the government legislation to ensure that we are kept safe and that we are believed when we come forward to say we have been attacked.”
The rally came ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March.
