Throughout November, hundreds of women will participate in an event called ‘Reclaim The Night’, which took place in Nottingham on Saturday night. It is a women’s only march that aims to stand up to rape and street violence against women. The event has been in motion since the 70’s, and takes place all over the world. Ironically, in the UK, our conviction rate is the lowest it has ever been, one of the lowest in Europe, at only 5.3% (British Crime Survey 2001). We therefore know that more rapists were convicted in the 70s when Reclaim The Night marches first started than they are now.
One student expressed these concerns, “I feel that wanting to create a ‘safe space’ without men simply implies that all men create danger for women.”
‘Reclaim The Night’ has a large female support base, but some women still perceive it as being detrimental to the equality movement and exclusionary to men. One student expressed these concerns, “I feel that wanting to create a ‘safe space’ without men simply implies that all men create danger for women. This is not true at all and I think that creating women-only groups only teaches women, subconsciously, that a man’s presence is an intrusion and equates to an automatic reduction in the level of safety within that environment; that it is no longer a safe place to be once men have entered.”
I would like to take this opportunity to address some of these issues.
In 2005 More magazine’s survey stated that 95% of women do not feel safe to walk the streets at night; 73% have fears of being raped. Half of these women would rather not leave their house due to fear for their safety. This is why more than 30 years after its debut, the Reclaim The Night march is still an important means of female empowerment. The women’s only event allows women to ‘take back’ the streets that they can so often feel intimated and threatened on, knowing they are in a ‘safe space’ supported by fellow women. The march asserts a collective voice that challenges women’s vulnerability on the streets.
However evidence shows that women are more affected by these brutal attacks. Police recorded 19,780 counts of sexual assault on women in comparison to 2273 on men
But is Reclaim The Night exclusionary? Men who self-identify as feminists may feel disregarded by the march; or even angered by the focus on female rape and violence, not male. Let me be clear: in no way should anyone, male or female, feel that their experience of sexual assault or violence is not considered significant because of their gender.
However evidence shows that women are more affected by these brutal attacks. Police recorded 19,780 counts of sexual assault on women in comparison to 2273 on men (Home Office Crime in England and Wales 2011-12). Not only this, but women subjected to the most serious sexual offences reported the perpetrator as most likely to be male, with 47% of those offenders being aged between 20-39.
Yes, it is true that not all men are perpetrators of sexual harassment, violence or rape, but yes all women have or will experience one of the aforementioned at some point in their life.
I believe that we can relate the exclusionary accusations of Reclaim The Night back to the #notallmen trend. This twitter hashtag represents the phenomenon of transforming a feminist debate into a male-centric one. Yes, it is true that not all men are perpetrators of sexual harassment, violence or rape, but yes all women have or will experience one of the aforementioned at some point in their life. The defensive nature of the #notallmen distracts from the main issue which is that women are at greater risk of experiencing sexual violence.
Reclaim The Night brings together women of every race, age and sexuality, allowing them to unite to bring about a sense of, sadly lost, security. It is, therefore, crucial that the event is women only. It is time that women felt safe on the streets alone, without the company of a male protector (whether he supports the feminist cause or not).
Katie Randall
Image courtesy of Mike Atherton via Flickr
I agree with this! I think if someones issue with the feminist movement is that it doesnt include men/consider men, then they need to really consider what it is they are annoyed about. The fact that their primary concern isnt that 95% of women are uncomfortable going out at night, but that the small percentage of men who are effected arent mentioned, then they arent really thinking about this logically.
Plus, the advancement of the feminist cause, is the advancement of help for men who are domestically abused, and the breaking down of ‘masculine’ barriers made by the patriarchy.