Reclaim the Night Leeds 2009

On Saturday 28th November over 200 women marched through Leeds to reclaim those spaces which may be threatening or home to violent attacks against women. The first section of the march was women only while the latter half was open to all. The march then made it's way to the civic hall where several short speeches were made and stalls from local concerned groups could be perused.

The march, organised by local women and with involvement from both Leeds University Feminist Society and Leeds Met female students, began in a cold evening, but without rain. The procession, with banners, placards and a full repotoire of chants, made it's way through the city centre down dark quiet streets and bustling popular areas. Over 200 women made their way to the Briggate where other supporters joined the ranks and partook in further singing. As the march moved past the police station and up Vicar Lane to proceed along Merrion Street, police decided to escort the group. This was despite the march being laboriously organised by dedicated volunteers, and approved by the city council. This was a pertinent reminder that although the public face of the police is one which claims to be acting on issues such as rape, the fact is that many victims are simply to scared of what will happen if they go to the police and may fear that they will not be believed.

Loud and confident chanting continued on the approach to the civic hall. Once inside free hot drinks were provided and there were stalls from local campaigning groups Object and Truth About Rape. Local support groups were also in attendance including Leeds City Council domestic violence team, HOPE support group of Scarborough, Coalition for the Removal of Pimping (CROP) and Support After Rape & Sexual Violence Leeds (SARSVL) who will be launching a new free and confidential rape crisis helpline in Spring 2010.

Attendees sat down to speeches from six local activists. All commended the fantastic event and some fo the history surrounding it. Jalna Hamner, long standing feminist activist and core volunteer at Feminist Archive North, spoke about the need for continuing social activism to make positive changes for women in our society. Further inspiring words were also heard from Sandra McNeil and Al Garthwaite, among others. Sandra was recently congratulated for her massive contribution to the feminist movement at London's reclaim the night march.

If you would like to support or volunteer at the new rape crisis helpline project in Leeds please contact SARSVL on info.sarsvl@googlemail.com

If you have been a victim of sexual abuse or assault recently or at anytime in the past you may like to contact;
HOPE (Healing Our Past Experiences) -  01723 381811
Sexual violence support in Scarborough. hopesupport@googlemail.com
Open Mon-Fri 9am-4.30pm (Mon. open until 8.30pm)
Bradford Rape Crisis - 01274 308270
Open Mon/Tues/Fri afternoons, Weds/Thurs evenings. Project Jyoti specialist service for Black Minority Ethnic women on Weds/Thurs afternoon.
Doncaster Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service - 01302 328555
Open Mon 5pm-7pm, Tues 9.30am-10.30am, Thurs 12noon-1pm.
STAR (Surviving Trauma After Rape) - 01924 298954
Free support for females and males  aged 14+ throughout West Yorkshire

Links:

Women Students and Experiences of Violence

The NUS Women's Campaign has launched a survey exploring women student's experiences of harassment, violence, sexual assault and stalking. The link above will take you to a survey which is part of the campaign. The survey is open to all women students including trans women. The survey will be live until the 4th January 2010.