In the late 1980s, Frankie Raffles joined with Evelyn Gillian and a group of women to establish a charity known as ‘Zero Tolerance’ through which they began a critical social campaign to convey messages about women and violence.
Frankie Raffles was known for her photography, particularly its use for social documentaries and its strong feminist ethic. Her work included capturing the lives of women in the Soviet Union, China, Zimbabwe, Israel, and Palestine; blending art and activism to represent untold stories of women’s lives, and embracing themes such as inequality, disability, sisterhood, and migration.
In 1992, the Zero Tolerance campaign received support from the Edinburgh District Women’s Committee and thus was launched in Edinburgh. The campaign involved five main posters- large-scale black and white images captured by Frankie of women and girls in ordinary, often domestic settings. Underneath the images were short captions in bold, used to juxtapose the images by summarising evidence of domestic violence against women.
In one poster, the image involved two small girls playing with toys in a large, lavish room. The caption read “By the time they reach 18, one of them will have been subjected to sexual abuse”. Another poster featured an elderly lady reading a book to a young girl. The caption was “From three to ninety-three - women are raped” thus resisting the convention that only young girls are subject to sexual assault
However it is the final poster of the campaign, the one that aimed to link all of them to the issues they addressed, that gave a powerful message; one that has never been more current and relevant than today. The final poster had simply one unifying slogan: “No Man Has the Right”.
Reading that caption made me stand still in my tracks. I had to read it over and over again. “No man has the right”. It’s a slogan that is so short and simple, and yet profoundly impactful in its meaning.
It has been over 30 years since the campaign, and yet it appears we are right where we started. At the time, the Zero Tolerance campaign was ground-breaking as it confronted not just society but also many politicians and legal professionals to challenge their prejudices. And yet now, in 2024, we have politicians making claims steeped in misogyny and reminding us that no matter how far we progress as a society, it can all be taken away in a second.
When Nick Fuentes, a far-right political commentator infamous for his white supremacist views, tweeted “Your Body, My Choice” on the night of the 2024 American election, it crystallized the grim trajectory for America under the new Trump administration. This future is marked by policies and laws that erode women’s autonomy and fundamental freedoms. Fuentes’ tweet stands in stark opposition to everything Raffles’ campaign and advocacy represented and sought to achieve. It signals a regressive step for feminist movements, further entrenching the patriarchal structures we have fought to dismantle for generations.
And it’s not just about one man tweeting a misogynistic, disgusting inversion of the pro-choice slogan. This reversal of women’s rights is unfolding everywhere. It starts subtly, almost imperceptibly—the rise of media figures like Andrew Tate, initially dismissed as laughable yet undeniably dangerous; a few sexist tweets from politicians shrugged off as mere words; and so on. Each instance, small on its own, contributes to a growing tide of regression.
We are witnessing the onset of a dystopian reality. The overturning of Roe v. Wade wasn’t just a monumental blow to women’s rights, safety, and autonomy—it signaled a regression to a darker, more oppressive past.
In Afghanistan, women are being erased from public life entirely. In just three years under the Taliban, they have lost not only their rights but their humanity—barred from education, work, and even self-expression.
It’s no coincidence that movements like '4B' are gaining momentum and books like The Handmaid’s Tale have surged in popularity since Trump’s election victory. Margaret Atwood herself noted that every event in her novel was inspired by real history. It now feels less like fiction and more like a chilling warning of what may come.
This begs the question: Are we regressing? Is Frankie Raffles' work in vain? Or does it mean we need even more campaigns, more voices, and more people willing to speak out—even when they try to silence us? Now, more than ever, we must stand up and make our voices heard. The next four years will be challenging. There is no doubt about it. But it is now more important than ever that we must stay united and not forget to fight for our rights, not just as women but as human beings.
Though Frankie Raffles passed away at just 39 during childbirth, her legacy remains as relevant and powerful as ever.
