Uncategorized

Reclaim the Night 2010 – A HollaReview

So last week we walked with the 7th annual Reclaim the Night march. For those who don’t know, its an anti-rape march which allows women not only to walk their own streets safely at night but to protest against rape, to fight for safety and for equality and to have their voices heard.

‘According to the British Crime Survey (2001) there are an estimated 47,000 rapes every year, around 40,000 attempted rapes and over 300,000 sexual assaults. Yet our conviction rate is the lowest it has ever been, one of the lowest in Europe, at only 5.3%. This means that more rapists were convicted in the 1970s when Reclaim The Night marches first started than they are now. Did you know that the maximum sentence possible for rape is life imprisonment? Probably not, because rarely are rapists even reported or convicted, let alone with a realistic sentence. This situation has to change.

We march to demand justice for rape survivors.’

Read more about Reclaim the Night here.

HollabackLDN at RTN

It was HollabackLDN’s first time at Reclaim the Night and we all found it amazingly uplifting and inspiring. The 2000 women who marched with us were so positive and strong and the range of ages and cultures there was incredible. Our amazing friend Hannah Whitfield made us a very cool banner which received much praise. Our favourite bits were when we walked down the quieter streets and people were leaning out of their windows to shout their support or joining in the march or when men walked along side, fists in the air, to show their support.  The march ended with a rally at the Camden Centre in Euston where there were a number of very eye-opening talks given by women such as Olivia Bailey the National Women’s Officer for the NUS, and speakers from organisations including Southall Black Sisters and Rape Crisis .

We were really inspired by the work done by the women we encountered at Reclaim the Night and were really grateful for all the support people offered to HollabackLDN and our zine Langdon Olgar of which we sold a bunch of copies so thanks to those who bought one. It was a really amazing thing to be a part of and we felt very proud. Being there really brought home how much work there is to be done. Its overwhelming because we, as women fighting for equality, still have a long long road ahead of us, and its kind of scary, but we have had nothing but support since we started and there is no way we’re going to give up. (more…)

Published on December 5,2010 at 1:40 pm in Uncategorized,
no comments 

Some Hollaback facts:

- Street Harassment has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with power. Whether it's "Hey baby girl" or “You’d look good on me,” groping, public masturbation, or worse, these “compliments” aren’t about flirting or about chivalry either.

- If it makes you feel uncomfortable, it's not okay.

- If you feel intimidated, you DON'T need to 'take it as a compliment.'

- Street harassment is a gateway crime that makes other forms of gender-based violence OK.

- Studies conducted show that between 80-90% of women have been harassed in public.

- Street harassment may be the social and cultural norm, but it is far from OK. Street harassment teaches us to be silent, that taking action will only escalate the situation. While this isn’t bad advice, it has led us down a dangerous road. Ultimately, perpetrators realise they won’t be held accountable and continue to harass.

- Hollaback! was designed by a group of young people who were tired of being silenced and sought a simple, non-violent response. What has emerged is a platform where thousands of stories of street harassment have been told.

- We believe that by continuing to tell and map these stories, our voices will chip away at a culture that makes gender-based violence OK. Together we have the power to end street harassment, one Hollaback at a time.

Tags

anti-street harassment Archway boobs bum slap bystander responsibility Cambridge CUSU cycling Event Feminists we love Geena Davis get involved groping Hollaback hollaback meeting Hollywood sexism international womens day langdon olgar langdonolgar library links LO2 london underground March meeting microaggressions News nightclub Oona King Policy Press proposition public masturbation public transport Reclaim the Night submissions taxi the law upskirt zine

© 2013 HollabackLDN!
Powered by WordPress