Railway murals ask how men can stand up for women

The murals were designed by Emily Kaye (left) in coordination with Heart of England Community Rail Partnership, White Ribbon UK and WMR (represented L-R by Sarah Davison, Leyla Buran and Rebecca Stone).

Murals asking what men can do to tackle violence against women and girls have been put up at five railway stations in Birmingham and Coventry.

The stations together serve more than 1.8m passengers a year and the artworks are visible from the trains passing through.

Created by Midlands artist Emily Kaye, they were developed for West Midlands Railway (WMR) and London Northwestern Railway (LNR).

The murals ask how men can intervene in situations including online discussions, whether they speak up to encourage positive attitudes, if they actively stand up against male violence, and whether they do enough.

The idea was to spark thoughts and change actions, Lynne Elliott said

One artwork asks the question: "Which man are you online?"

It gives several options as an answer – the man who started the thread, forwarded the photo, laughed, lurked, or made the images, or the man who reported it.

The artworks were developed with antiviolence charity White Ribbon UK

Jonny Wiseman, WMR customer experience director, said the rail operators' charity partner was White Ribbon UK, which advocates against violence towards women and girls, with a three-year action plan in place to raise awareness of the charity's work.

Many "brilliant, inspiring men" were already working for an equal world, the charity said

Lynne Elliott, chief executive of White Ribbon UK, said: "By placing these artworks where thousands pass through daily, we're encouraging people, especially men, to pause, reflect, and consider the steps they can take."

She said the charity was already working with many "brilliant, inspiring men", who were working to build a world where everyone was equal, safe and respected, adding: "We want more to join in."

The artworks, commissioned by Heart of England Community Rail Partnership, can be seen at Tile Hill, Adderley Park, Hampton-in-Arden, Marston Green and Stechford stations.