Following a successful Reclaim the Night march by University of Lincoln students last week, more events are planned to continue supporting the movement.
Students gathered outside the Student’s Union on Thursday night to show solidarity against harassment and sexual assault on women. The night began with motivational speeches, advice, and encouragement, which led into a unified march around Lincoln. Those who attended held placards and posters stating, ‘enough is enough’, ‘safety is not privilege’, and ‘hands off’, as well as lists of the names of women affected by the cause of protests like these.
Reclaim the Night is an annual event hosted by many universities nationwide to spread awareness about the violence and harassment women encounter in their daily lives. The movement started in Leeds, UK, in 1977 with attempts to reclaim the streets in an empowering event. It was started by the Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group, and 44 years later, the campaign is still going strong.
Harriet Kennedy, Vice President well-being and community officer at the University of Lincoln, says there are plans to host more events like Reclaim the Night after the turnout was a lot higher than previous years.
“A big thing I’m working on is street lighting, so there will be things to come around that,” and although no events have been set in stone, “everything is in the making and being planned,”
450 students took part in the march, all hoping to spread word of the movement.
University of Lincoln student, Josephine Woolston, attended the event and was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. “The march was amazing, especially as I didn’t expect so many people to be there. It just goes to show that people do care about this cause and we want to do everything we can to make a difference.”
“There have been marches and protests for years about this cause, but I am confident that with everyone’s help, we can finally start to see a change.”
The University of Lincoln Student’s Union plan to host many more events in the future to continue to raise awareness for the campaign against violence on women.
