What: Reclaim the Night is a march to campaign against gender-based violence and gender inequality
When: Friday 25th November at 7pm
Where: The march will begin in Queen’s Square and end at the Anson Rooms
Reclaim the Night is an extremely important event in the feminist calender, as it provides the opportunity for people of all genders to reclaim the streets they have been taught to fear. People from all walks of life have the opportunity this Friday to march in support of gender equality, an issue which unfortunately, we are still calling for not only in our own society, but around the world.
At 7pm, marchers will gather in Queen’s Square and walk to the Students’ Union where there will be stalls and speakers from local organisations. There will also be spoken word poetry, music performances and comedy from a diverse range of self-identifying women.
Darcy Ramsden, UoB’s Women’s Officer told Students of Bristol that:
“It’s about educating people about consent, gender-based violence and inequality … We march at night because it’s about defying those who tell us not to walk alone at night or not to wear certain clothes, which is straight up victim-blaming …
About seven out of ten women at university have been groped, assaulted, harassed or abused, and one in seven have been seriously physically or sexually assaulted.
The vast majority of these incidents go unreported. The truth is, if you don’t have a friend who has been harassed or assaulted, it’s probably either because they haven’t told anyone, or because you simply aren’t the person they’ve disclosed that information to. I’m yet to meet a woman who’s never been touched inappropriately in a club or festival crowd, or hasn’t had that happen to a mate. So many students still believe that it’s okay to sleep with someone if they’re wasted or high.
I guess because of this, and because of the victim-blaming nature of our society, survivors often feel like what happened to them is excusable or it’s their fault. I know I’ve felt that way in the past, and I hope Reclaim the Night can stop women from feeling that way in the future.”
One of the reasons that we are called “Her Campus” is to emphasise this site as a platform for those that identify as women to have a voice and claim an online community as their own, as the internet is rife with sexism, trolling and a disturbing desensitisation to hate. Reclaim the Night has the same message: reclaiming the streets and having the right to basic safety in our own society.
Her Campus will be there and we truly hope that as many of you will also attend in solidarity.
Please note that the organisers state:
“The event may include mentions of or reference to rape, assault, domestic violence, abuse and other forms of sexual violence. We will encourage individuals to provide relevant content warnings where possible, and should you need to leave the space at any moment there are sofas in the foyer of the Richmond Building where you are welcome to take a moment to yourself.”