Chapter 4
Noisy Protest
What is it?
Noisy protests are a form of street protest where participants make a lot of noise, either with honks, musical instruments, home-made drums or other tools. In 2020, women’s rights activists in Slovakia used wooden spoons and cooking utensils to make a lot of noise at their noisy protest.
How do you do it?
The organisation is similar to that of a protest. Just make sure that participants bring with them some instruments to make noise!
Why and when should you use it?
Noisy protests are very disruptive and get a lot of attention.
They work best in response or protest to very visible events, for example an international conference, a meeting of heads of state and government, a parade on a special occasion.
Noisy protests work to show you and your campaign disagree with the message or meaning of that event.
Even though noisy protests can be quite effective in raising awareness of your opposition to a certain issue, there are risks to relying too much on this strategy.
For example, while you may have been granted legal permission to have a protest, excessive noise can be classified as a breach of the public order. This can lead to legal consequences.
Works best in combination with:
Noise itself can be a message, but make sure that your main complaints and demands are articulated too. You can have a banner with your name and tagline, or distribute some leaflets to passers-by.