Women and girls marched in Lincoln against male violence as part of the national Reclaim the Night campaign.
The march began at 6pm on Friday, March 6 outside the University of Lincoln’s Tower Bar.
Amy Blackburn, Vice President for Welfare and Community at University of Lincoln Students’ Union, estimated that around 60 women attended the march
She said: “It’s really about empowering our students so they feel safe in the city. Lincoln is our home and therefore we need to be safe when we’re walking around it.
“I had loads of fun. The chanting was amazing, and the whole atmosphere was wonderful. It’s so empowering to know that students really care about this and are really passionate about making change in their city and community so it was a really big, wonderful night.”
“We had a really good turn out, and lots of different people from different walks of life which was really nice to see as well, a really diverse group.”
The march was part of the Students’ Union campaign for Women’s History Month.
Ms Blackburn said: “Women’s History Month this year is all based around safety. The big event was Reclaim the Night, we’ve also got a survey going on to try and get data so we can lobby the local council to get better streetlight provision. We’ve also got a launch at the end of the month on our streetlight campaign which will be coming out at the end of March.”
Earlier this year, Lincolnshire County Council announced that switching street lights off has saved the taxpayer £2.5 million, but many people are concerned about the consequences for the safety of people in Lincoln.
Ms Blackburn added: “Everything we do is based on student feedback. All I and the other student leaders are hearing about at the moment is safety in the city and students not being happy in the Lincoln, so we need to do something about it. We need to act, and what a perfect time as Women’s History Month to really make a difference?
“We’re hoping to get it into union policy so we can lobby for many years until we do get better streetlight provision. We’re got some exciting plans for April which you’ll find out soon, that involve hopefully some local members of council and getting them to really answer to students as to why they don’t feel safe in Lincoln.”
