Everyday Sexism's Laura Bates: 'Awareness-raising has become a worldwide movement for equality'

It is difficult – or even, impossible – to find a scenario untouched by sexism. From "catfights" among female political party leaders to the body-shaming articles that litter the Daily Mail's sidebar of shame, to the 70% of speaking parts in Hollywood being given to men to Page 3, misogyny permeates every aspect of women's lives.

In its short, three-year history, the Everyday Sexism project has unveiled the link between these problems, exposing sexism's cumulative force by intertwining the different inequalities faced by all women. From street harassment to workplace discrimination, rape to domestic violence, the stories have flooded in.

As it prepares to mark its third anniversary on Thursday 16 April, Everyday Sexism has collected 100,000 stories from women all over the world.

"Since Everyday Sexism was launched in April 2012, it has achieved international media coverage from the Times of India to the New York Times and has expanded into over 18 countries internationally," founder Laura Bates says, who herself has become a leading influence in the fourth wave of feminism. The Everyday Sexism book, published last year, was nominated for the Waterstones book of the year award.

Stories have been submitted by women from all walks of life, the young, the old, the pregnant; all victims of the gender inequality which underlies every catcall or grope. One in three girls experience unwanted sexual touching at school; one in five people think it is acceptable for a man to hit his female partner if she is dressed in revealing clothing in public; women earn 82p for every £1 earned by a man.

While these statistics show the prevalence of sexism, Everyday Sexism has added a new dimension to these dire figures: the personal experience.

Catcall from builders in the street, I looked up and they said 'not you love' and pointed to the 13-year-old behind me in shorts

Never had a career break until I took a year off age 51 to care for a terminally ill parent. Never got a full time job again

At my tribunal for BBC ageism and sexism, a BBC producer called me a 'little black dress, not a red carpet frock'

But in this liberal and modern age, to complain about such incidents or call out the way women are treated renders you likely to be labelled "uptight" or "whiny". Everyday Sexism has begun to change this, by providing women with a place to record stories of sexism on a daily basis and to show the problem exists in abundance. Bates's project challenges the status quo of thinking it is "just the way things are".

And the project hasn't just provided an essential platform for women to air their experiences, it has had a significant impact on policymaking and education.

"The entries have been used to work on policy with ministers and members of Parliament in multiple countries, to start conversations about consent in schools and universities, to tackle sexual harassment in businesses and workplaces and to help police forces raise the reporting and detection rates on sexual offences," Bates adds.

"On a more individual level, thousands of people have reported the personal impact of the project, from men who have stood up and started challenging street harassers, to women who have reported sexual assault or workplace discrimination for the first time, to girls who have started their own campaigns at school," Bates says.

"What started as an awareness-raising activity has become a worldwide movement for equality."