The Reclaim the Night marches started in the UK on the 12th November 1977, when torch lit marches were held across England in Leeds, York, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, Brighton and London. They were called by the Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group, who were inspired by news of coordinated women-only ‘Take Back The Night’ marches against sexual harassment, held across towns and cities in West Germany on the 30th April 1977.
In the UK, inspired by the news from Germany, women in Leeds formed a Reclaim The Night group to take collective action against rape and male sexual violence against women. This was particularly significant to women in the area because of the serial murders by Peter Sutcliffe, dubbed by the press as the ‘Yorkshire Ripper’, who sexually attacked and murdered thirteen women across Yorkshire between 1975 and 1980.
Women in the area were angry that the police response to these murders seemed slow and that the press barely reported on them when it was mainly women involved in prostitution who were murdered. But when a young student woman was murdered, the press and the police seemed to take more notice. The police response was to tell women not to go out at night, effectively putting them under curfew. This was not a helpful suggestion for any women, those working late shifts or night shifts, or those involved in sex working who often had no choice about whether they went out at night or not.
The Leeds Revolutionary Feminist group called for women to march in cities across the UK on the night of 12th November 1977. Hundreds of women took back their cities on that night, marching with flaming torches through centres and back streets alike. They made the point that women should be able to walk anywhere and that they should not be blamed or restricted because of men’s violence.
The Reclaim the Night marches are designed to promote public awareness about the levels of violence and harassment experienced by women and girls on our streets.
All are welcome to attend. Although the focus of RTN marches is to highlight women's experiences of sexual harassment and violence, we invite everyone to attend. We believe it will take a whole society approach to end violence against women & girls and so building allies and involving all people is essential.
Here in Devon, we would hold our RTN marches during the 16 Days of Action campaign. 16 days of action is an annual global campaign which takes place between 25th November (the International Day Against Violence Against Women) and 10th December (World Human Rights Day). The campaign aims to end gender-based violence and prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls. The campaign started in 1991. The campaign highlights the link between violence against women and human rights. The campaign focuses on different types of abuse experienced by women across the UK and encourages action and awareness against all forms of violence against women and girls.
Reclaim the Night, Exeter, will be held on the 27th of November at 6pm. Starting point is Sidwell Street.
Keep a check on the Devon Domestic Abuse Alliance page for up to date information on the event.