Colchester's candle-lit march against violence on women

Nearly a hundred people walked together across town from Colchester’s war memorial on Women’s International Day.

The event was organised by Rebekah Wallace-Brown,46, of New Town, Colchester, who is founder of Eye of Boudicca, an initiative with a focus on street and sexual harassment.

Rebekah, who is also a learning support assistant at Colchester Sixth Form College and chairwoman of the feminism society, launched the campaign to educate women how to stand up for themselves in a safe and effective way.

She said: “ I got fed up with all the stories my students would tell me about being followed, groped or spiked.

“I created it as a way to give them a space to stand up to this stuff and move away from victimhood.”

Organiser - Rebekah Wallace-Brown,46, of New Town is the founder of the Eye of Boudicca campaign

In 2020, 110 women in the UK were killed by men.

To commemorate their lives, Rebekah encouraged residents to write a name of a woman killed by domestic violence on a candle and join the march.

“It was really emotional”, she said. “ Especially the speeches at the end, most of which were delivered by students talking about what feminism means to them.

“It was such a warm feeling and we gathered more people along the way.”

Together - marchers were seen walking across Colchester's High Street

The event saw marchers walk up the High Street, finishing at Colchester Arts Centre’s churchyard where speeches and poetry readings were held.

Rebekah said: “People would stop us on the streets and say ‘I hope you make a better future for our daughters’.

“It’s just definitely time to change – I am probably the fourth generation to say that.

“A lot of it seems to fall on women shoulders...’Don’t do this, don’t go there’.

“We need to change the narrative.

“We need to say women are not property and no means no.”

Visit eyeofboudica.org.

Memory - candles with the names of women who have died at the hands of violence in 2019 Picture: Rosie Paternoster