On this 8th of March, International Women’s Day, we take to the streets to honour the struggles of women around the world. This is a day of resistance, remembrance and collective power – a day to unite our demands, our hopes, our victories and the battles that remain.
In Latin America, the 8th of March is a day of both commemoration and struggle, where millions march to denounce gender-based violence, social injustice and state repression. In keeping with this legacy of resistance, we, as Latin American migrant women, take to the streets in London to make our voices heard.
At LAWA (Latin American Women’s Aid), we invite you to march alongside us as part of the International Feminist Strike 2025. As migrant women from the Global Majority, we understand how our intersecting identities shape our experiences in the world. We march because our struggles are interconnected and because another world is possible.
Here are seven crucial reasons why your presence matters:
1. Gender-based violence is a global emergency
Violence against women and gender-diverse people remains a global crisis. According to MundoSur, in the first half of 2024 alone, 2,128 femicides were recorded across 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries – one femicide every two hours. Between 2021 and 2024, the total reached 11,640 femicides in the region.
In the UK, over 1.2 million women experience domestic abuse each year, with migrant and Global Majority women facing disproportionate levels of violence. According to Imkaan, women from these backgrounds remain trapped in abusive relationships for up to 40% longer than their white British counterparts due to fear, lack of information, and systemic neglect.
>>> We march to demand an end to violence against women and girls, and for systems that protect, not neglect, migrant survivors!
2. We refuse to be silenced
The UK government continues to fail survivors of gender-based violence. Funding for refuges and specialist services remains critically inadequate, leaving countless women – especially migrant women – without support.
>> We march to demand real action: sustainable, accessible, and sufficient funding to protect all women!
3. Migrant women deserve protection, not persecution
For migrant women and women from the Global Majority, seeking help is far more challenging due to restrictive migration laws, racism and economic hardship. The hostile environment and current UK migration system criminalise their right to move and deny them access to the resources they need to rebuild their lives.
We reclaim migration as a fundamental human right. The freedom to move, live and work in dignity should not be a privilege. It is a necessity.
>>> We march for policies that protect, not punish, migrant women. We demand a system that upholds human rights and ensures real opportunities for safety and stability!
4. The cost-of-living crisis is a feminist issue
The cost-of-living and housing crises in the UK are severely impacting migrant women survivors, pushing many into homelessness, precarious work and deeper poverty.
At LAWA, we see first-hand how lack of government action is failing our communities. Survivors cannot heal if they do not have access to housing, financial stability and the ability to achieve self-determination.
>>> We march to demand urgent solutions that provide migrant women with safe housing, economic autonomy and the resources to thrive!
5. Reproductive rights and care work must be valued
The cis-hetero-patriarchal economic system exploits our reproductive labour while devaluing care work. It refuses to recognise caregivers as essential workers and continually threatens our bodily autonomy. In the UK, Latin American migrant women are overrepresented in the domestic and care work sectors, often enduring low wages, exploitative conditions, and long working hours that prevent them from spending time with their families and communities. Many of the women we support at LAWA experience job insecurity, lack of legal protection and barriers to accessing basic rights. Their labour sustains entire industries, yet their contributions remain invisible and undervalued.
Access to contraception, abortion rights and reproductive healthcare should not be up for debate. Care work, whether paid or unpaid, must be recognised as essential labour that sustains families, communities and economies.
>>> We march for reproductive justice, the recognition of care work as essential labour, and fair conditions for all migrant women workers.
6. Colonialism is not over
From the UK’s hostile migration policies to the ongoing displacement of people in Latin America, Palestine, Sudan, Kurdistan, and beyond, colonial violence is still shaping lives today. The historical impoverishment of our lands – driven by colonial occupation, resource extraction and economic exploitation – continues to force people to migrate in search of safety and a better future. Yet, the UK government refuses to take historical responsibility for its role in creating these conditions, having profited from centuries of colonial exploitation that stripped our lands of resources, destabilised economies, and fuelled conflicts. Instead of acknowledging this legacy, it continues to implement policies that criminalise and exclude migrants, denying them the very opportunities taken from their homelands.
We see the impact of colonialism in the precarious jobs migrant women are pushed into, the abuse our bodies endure, and the repeated displacement of our people. The struggle against borders, racism and exploitation remains a struggle against colonialism itself.
>>> We march to call for recognition of colonial legacies in shaping migration, policies that uphold the rights and dignity of migrants, and a commitment to global solidarity.
7. Another world is possible
We envision a world free from violence, oppression and exploitation – one where all women, migrants and gender-diverse people can live with safety, dignity and self-determination. As Latin American migrant women, our experiences of displacement, inequality and resilience shape our mission to work towards a more just society. By coming together, we amplify our voices and strengthen our communities.
>>> We march to highlight the realities faced by Latin American migrant women and to stand in solidarity with all those working towards a more equitable future.
Join us on this 8th of March in London! Let’s take to the streets, raise our voices and continue the fight for liberation. Bring your banners, your energy and your demands. Together, we are unstoppable!
