Last Friday, I went on Bristol's annual Reclaim the Night protest. Reclaim the Night is a movement that operates internationally to protest and work against sexual violence. The marches, such as the one I went on, are always held at night- a way to shout back against victim blaming which says that if women are out at night then they are to be blamed for any consequences.I met up with two of my friends beforehand, which was really nice. One of them had made a placard, and let me carry it for most of the march, then let me keep it after- woo!!
The night began at around 6ish, when everyone gathered in Queen Square, which is located in central Bristol. We milled around for a while, and I acquired some fantastic face paint, as well as using the time to catch up with old and current friends alike!
Then, as the evening started officially, there was a short candle-lit vigil, as a chance to remember and think of all affected by sexual violence. During this time, one of the people running it read out a poem she'd written, which was very moving.
After that, we formed our procession and marched straight through central Bristol, stopping traffic in some of the busiest places. As we marched we waved banners and placards, and chanted- for example, 'What do we want? Safer streets! When do we want them? Now!' and 'Whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no'. All of this meant we attracted a huge amount of attention, and loads and loads of people saw both what we were doing and the meaning behind it.
Marching up Park Street
Unfortunately, I had to leave when we got the Student Union building; there were talks and performances planned for after that, but I had other plans.
Entering the Bristol University Student Union
Overall, I found the experience really liberating and it increased my personal feelings towards feminism, and fighting for our cause. I wanted to keep this post about the event itself; however, please read Part Two to find out
why marches like these are so important.
