Calico was founded by activists and best friends, Daz Cox and Martha Harrison.

During our final year at the University of Birmingham, Sarah Everard was murdered by a police officer. In response to her murder, some questioned how Sarah could’ve prevented being attacked by ‘flagging down a bus’ or being more ‘streetwise’. This made us, and our community, really angry.

Our first campaign, Curfew, was a short film we made as students. We asked our friends the question ‘What would you do if men had a curfew’, and brought their answers to life in public spaces. We weren’t campaigning for a curfew for men, we were campaigning for a change in perspective.

When gendered violence happens, the focus is often on how women can change their behaviour in order to keep themselves safe, rather than on what we – as a society – can do to prevent this from happening.

Curfew went further than we ever expected. It was referenced in the West Midlands Combined Authority’s strategy to reduce violence against women and girls, demonstrating that creativity can be a catalyst for change. That’s where Calico began.

Since then, we’ve continued to build work that sits between communities and decision-makers, using creativity to open up conversations, challenge assumptions, and push for change in the systems that shape our lives.