On March 8th, Liv Hunt and Alicia Khuttan led the Reclaim the Night March, taking to the streets to stress the importance of women’s safety in public spaces. 

Liv, the Activities and Opportunities Officer, explained how within cheerleading she organised many team socials and she realised how widespread street harassment and safety concerns were: “There’s an issue of safety on campus, on and off campus actually, and not just at night, but even during the day,” she said. 

The SU’s survey regarding night safety showed that one-third of respondents had been harassed on campus. Meanwhile, two-thirds of respondents had experienced harassment in the city. 

Liv joined forces with Alicia, the Women’s Officer, to bring awareness by organising Reclaim the Night. Alicia shared: “Knowing that I have a position of influence, means that I have the opportunity to do something about this.”  

Reclaim the Night was first held in 1977, after women were instructed by police to stay in after dark, following attacks from the Yorkshire Ripper. It has since been held throughout the UK to advocate for societal change in terms of public safety and violence against women.  

The UEA(SU) held its first Reclaim the Night March in 2016, though there hadn’t been one held since 2019. 

The main hope for bringing it back was to start a conversation about harassment and safety. “We also hope that it will help with reassuring people: people care, this is not going unnoticed, and we actually follow through with what we say” said Alicia.   

One message within the movement concerned holding behaviours accountable. Liv highlighted Men’s Football for demonstrating that it was possible to fix a “difficult culture” through open discussions and bystander training. “Football get banned [from the LCR] every year and all it took was, what, ten people to say ‘no’ and the whole thing has changed.”  

At seven o’clock, the March started with a gathering outside the Forum and opening speech which is read aloud at every Reclaim the Night event. During this came the first wave of disruption in the form of a group of teenage boys.  

A six-foot Reclaim the Night banner led the way, followed by drumming band XR Drummers who set the beat throughout the entire March. The crowd was a mix of women and men, with over 70 people in attendance, with 100 at its highest point. The March remained passionate and upbeat despite its message, waving around glow sticks and holding up signs calling for women’s safety at night. 

Along the March several bystanders joined the route to show their support, one older woman shared: “These marches have been going on for a long time and we need them to keep going because things have just gotten so bad.” There were many women out drinking who cheered on the March with their whooping and clapping, including a particularly passionate hen-do decked out in pink. 

Several negative disruptions throughout the March were instigated by teenage boys and men, highlighting the importance of the March’s message. One attendee commented: “It really shows you which areas in town to avoid at night.”  

The areas where more street harassment was experienced were: Norwich Market, Red Lion Street (by The Bell Hotel), Wensum Street (by Glass House), St Andrew’s Street and Prince of Wales Road. 

The March ended outside City Hall where the crowd gathered around for some final speeches and cheers, which were performed by those who felt impassioned by the movement. During which, a group of motorcyclists deliberately disrupted the speeches with repeated races and engine-revving next to the event. The crowd remained focused on the speeches which highlighted attendees’ frustration regarding such antisocial behaviours.  

Having successfully organised this event and seen its effect, they hope to repeat it next year as well.