Manchester Reclaim the Night
RTN | 02.03.2008 19:04
Many turned out to last night's Reclaim the Night march, organised by the National Union of Students' women's campaign, despite the heavy rain.
Source: Evenings News online
HUNDREDS of students marched through the streets of Manchester to demonstrate against violence towards women.
Around 400 people came from across the country to take part in the city centre demonstration organised by the National Union of Students (NUS) Women's Campaign.
The Reclaim the Night marches have taken place in different cities across the country since beginning in Leeds, in the 1970s, when women protested against a police curfew to keep them indoors after dark while the Yorkshire Ripper was murdering prostitutes in the area. They said they did not want to be kept off the streets by the threat of male violence and were no more at risk than men.
Saturday's march, which set off from Manchester University students' union, in Sackville Street, at 6.30pm, aimed to decrease women's fear of street crime and raise awareness of domestic violence, which happens behind closed doors. Organisers also hope to put pressure on the government to improve conviction rates and provide uniform support for female victims, claiming one-in-three local authorities have no specialist services to help them.
NUS national women's officer Kat Stark said: "This demonstration is called Reclaim the Night but we'll be highlighting the fact that most violence against women actually occurs behind closed doors. We are demonstrating simply because not enough is being done to significantly reduce levels of violence against women today."
HUNDREDS of students marched through the streets of Manchester to demonstrate against violence towards women.
Around 400 people came from across the country to take part in the city centre demonstration organised by the National Union of Students (NUS) Women's Campaign.
The Reclaim the Night marches have taken place in different cities across the country since beginning in Leeds, in the 1970s, when women protested against a police curfew to keep them indoors after dark while the Yorkshire Ripper was murdering prostitutes in the area. They said they did not want to be kept off the streets by the threat of male violence and were no more at risk than men.
Saturday's march, which set off from Manchester University students' union, in Sackville Street, at 6.30pm, aimed to decrease women's fear of street crime and raise awareness of domestic violence, which happens behind closed doors. Organisers also hope to put pressure on the government to improve conviction rates and provide uniform support for female victims, claiming one-in-three local authorities have no specialist services to help them.
NUS national women's officer Kat Stark said: "This demonstration is called Reclaim the Night but we'll be highlighting the fact that most violence against women actually occurs behind closed doors. We are demonstrating simply because not enough is being done to significantly reduce levels of violence against women today."
RTN