This is an electronic march for ALL women (you do not have to be a survivor of sexual assault to participate) to safely Reclaim our Right to Take Back the Night. Rape and sexual assault is not our fault. Why should we have to curb our natural behaviors due to fear of being hurt. It is time for predators to take responsibility: for them to have to walk with others for protection, for them to have to stay indoors at nighttime, for them to stop raping our women and children.
The twenty seventh of October 2006 marks the 30th anniversary of the international Reclaim the Night march – a peaceful demonstration against men’s sexual violence toward women and children. Traditionally the march is a women’s only space – a space for healing and solidarity. Interestingly enough, while reported sexual assaults increase, the marches have been reducing in numbers over recent years. It’s not just the increasing cost of insurance and lack of funding. Women are busy, women are tired, women cannot always fight the fight against sexual violence alone. Therefore, an electronic march allows you to have a public voice without having to leave your lounge room.
Reclaim the Night began in Rome in 1976 as an organized reaction to astronomical figures of reported rapes (16000 per annum). Marches followed in 1977 in West Germany and in England. In Leeds (U.K) women marched against the curfews imposed against them because of the ‘Ripper Murders’. Angered by police advice to stay indoors, they marched with torches through the town and challenged men in the street, asking them where they were at the time the “Ripper” killed Jacqueline Hill. Support marches occurred simultaneously in 11 other towns, from Manchester to Soho.
‘Take Back the Night’ marches in the USA were first held in 1978 as a symbolic statement of commitment to stopping the tide of violence against women and a demand that perpetrators be held responsible for their actions and be made to change their behaviors. That same year, women from Ireland, India, Canada, Germany, Holland and Australia also marched through their cities to Reclaim the Night.
Women are sick to death of being sexually violated and we say NO MORE. We will defend women and children subjected to sexual violence, no matter where they live, what their race or creed is, or how they choose to live their life.
Join an international solidarity that calls for society to end sexual violence against women and children. Leave a message, a poem, an inspiration, a demand, a prayer, in the below comment field. Begin your message by stating either your town or country. Once you’ve left your written support, send this blogging march widely and let’s track the supportive communications as they travel our borderless world, reaching our sisters in as far away places as we can.
This Friday evening, October 27, women from all over the world will be marching together to demand lawmakers take note of our calls to end sexual violence. Not all of us can, or want to attend marches. Instead, I ask you to light a candle, to light the night for those who have been harmed, and to read through the messages left below. Having been involved in marches for 15 years I can testify to the strength survivors of sexual violence glean from sharing a healing space and receiving messages of support from others. Your supportive comment will be valued and cherished by another woman, somewhere.
To leave a comment you will need to become a member of families.com. No fee, no obligation to stay involved, but a worldwide blogging march to display how many women support ending sexual violence. To register a comment, join here.
Between now and Friday October 27th send this article around the world to every woman you know. If you know a supportive male who may also like to help end sexual violence against women and children, forward him Calling Non-Violent Men to Reclaim the Knight.
I look forward to the virtual sharing with you all on Friday evening, October 27. I will sit on my back verandah, beside a candle and read all the Reclaim the Night comments from around the world. On Saturday the 28th of October I will forward the link, containing all of the comments, to politicians and to the International site for the elimination of violence against women.
Related articles:
Disclosures of Sexual Assaults often lead to Dissociation
Sexual Violence Awareness Month
The Negative Effect of Globalization on Rape
I HAD NO IDEA: A Story from a Mother whose Child was Sexually Abused by a Family Member
I was Abused by Five different Predators as a Child: Sophie’s story
When Bad Things Happen Again and Again
Recovery From a Rape. YOU Can Immediately Help
Shampoo to Help Remove the Shams and Pooh of Life after an Assault
Topical Whensday: When will YOU wear a Colored Tee to Recognize Violence Against Women and Children