Over one hundred students from The University of Sheffield marched the streets in the City Centre protesting for their rights to feel safe on nights out on Saturday 26 November.
Earlier this year it was reported that 1 in 4 women have experienced sexual assault and/or harassment as an adult in the UK. Before the pandemic, 1 in 3 women worldwide were experiencing gender-based violence, and since the pandemic, helplines have reported an increase.
Reclaim the Night marches started in the 1970s, in response to the murders of Peter Sutcliffe, also known as The Yorkshire Ripper. At the time police warned women to stay at home, as Peter Sutcliffe continued to terrorize women across the North. Many women fought back against the idea that they should be the ones ‘contained’ in their homes.
The first march took place in Leeds in 1977, followed by protests in 12 other cities across the country that same year.
The rape and murder of Sarah Everard and the murders of Sabina Nessa, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry have brought the issues of violence against women into the light again in recent years.
But for every high-profile crime in the news, thousands go unreported, as has been seen in England and Wales in the past year alone:
- 1.6 million women in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse
- Two-thirds of women aged 16 to 34 experienced harassment
- 85,000 women experienced rape or attempted rape.
Francis, a member of Sheffield FemSoc, said in a speech after the protest: “I’ve never spoken to someone who was assigned female at birth who hasn’t experienced a form of sexual violence.
“We shouldn’t have to accept this. We demand a radical movement to solve a problem they have created.”
The UN proposed the International 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign. This was originally created to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year around the world from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day.
Meera Kulkarni, Centre Manager at Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (SRASAC), says: “Perpetrators choose to perpetrate, we don’t have to put up with it, these are choices and actions they willingly engage in. Please believe, listen and respect victims, when it’s safe don’t be a bystander.”
On the issue of violence across the gender spectrum, a spokesperson for Sheffield Students’ Union said: “We recognize that gendered violence is not simply violence against women and that many non-binary people and men are not protected against gendered violence, yet are often excluded from the conversation. We also recognize that gender is not the only factor at work in gendered violence and in responses to it.”
