Reclaim the Night: Protesters will march through Blackpool town centre to end violence against women and campaign for safer streets

When and where is the march?

The march will begin at Upside Down cafe on Cedar Square at 6pm then set off towards the promenade, walking past the bars on Queen Street and elsewhere, and past the Comedy Carpet before heading back. The event lasts for two hours, returning to the cafe for 7:15, where you are invited for refreshments and networking.

Who can attend the Reclaim The Night march?

The protest is advertised as a family-friendly event and welcomes women, children and make allies to join in and make their voices heard. Participants are encouraged to bring placards, banners and musical instruments as they join together to take a stand against violence and harassment. Click here to reserve a spot – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reclaim-the-night-blackpool-tickets-471161124607

Who has organised the protest?

The event is being organised by Empowerment charity, which is rolling out the It Stops Here campaign to end gender-based violence, backed by Blackpool Council and the Safer Streets fund.

Women have been sharing their stories of harassment on the Reclaim Blackpool Map. There are now over 100 testimonies on the map, and three quarters of them describe incidents in Blackpool town centre, many of them in bars.

Reclaim Blackpool will also be hosting an activism workshop for young people the following day (Saturday 10th Dec) at Aunty Social on Topping Street.

Is Reclaim The Night part of a movement?

Reclaim the Night was a movement that began in Leeds in 1977 following the police response to the Yorkshire Ripper – instructing women to stay out of public spaces after dark. Women demanded that public spaces should be safe for anyone to be, irrelevant of gender, by joining together and marching through the streets after dark.

After the brutal murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021, the Metropolitan Police issued similar advice, leading to a second incarnation of the movement in which women set out to Reclaim These Streets. Protests have since taken place up and down the country demonstrating for an end to street harassment, rape and violence against women more broadly.