Colchester Reclaim the Night march to return tonight

The Reclaim the Night march is being organised by staff and service-users from the Colchester-based charity, Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse (CARA), with the event having first taken place in 1977.

The march endured a three-year hiatus due to Covid-19 fears, but it will now return to Colchester tonight, with participants asked to meet outside the Firstsite Art Gallery at 4.45pm.

Above all else, the Reclaim the Night march is organised as a show of strength against sexual violence, domestic abuse, street harassment, rape culture, and all forms of violence against women and girls.

This year’s march will coincide with the men’s World Cup when, as Essex Police Superintendent Simon Anslow told the Gazette last week, emergency services see a spike in reports of domestic violence of all kinds.

This assertion is backed up by a 2014 study conducted by Lancaster University academics, who found reports of abuse to the police in north-west England during three men’s World Cups increased by 26 per cent when the national team won or drew.

When the national team lost, reports of domestic violence increased by 38 per cent.

It is hoped the march will see the community – regardless of religion or sexuality – come together in support of women and girls.

The march organiser, Sarah Clementson, explained the reason behind holding the march at night time.

She said: “The march is about highlighting the reality of male violence against women and girls and calling for collective action from our whole community to end it.

“It’s about reclaiming public spaces for women and girls – after dark and during the day, rejecting victim blaming and creating the expectation that women and girls should have as much freedom in the way they behave as men and boys.”

The entire community is welcome at the Reclaim the Night March, which will likely have a strong presence owing to the colour, noise, and light traditionally associated with the event.