Words: Marlena Cridge (She/her)
In recent years, the idea has grown that feminism has become “irrelevant”, especially to young people. But, these protests go to show that it is unequivocally needed, especially now.
A perpetual fear of the night unites all women. Too much of our lives are spent worrying about how to get home, when to go for a run, or when to walk the dog. As women, we are all connected throughout time and history by this collective anxiety. Today’s feminist protests sit on a rich tapestry of history, with countless women bound together to fight the same issues. We must ask, then, how can we look at the protests of the past in order to successfully tackle the feminist issues of today?
Formed in response to Peter Sutcliffe, known as the Yorkshire Ripper, the 1977 Reclaim the Night marches in Leeds lit the match for a wildfire of similar protests blazing throughout the UK. While the search for the murderer was ongoing, the police told local women to stay at home and follow strict curfews. In response to these gendered double standards, the Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group organised the first march on November 12th. Brandishing torches, they marched to spread the message that women shouldn’t have to fear the darkness. Al Garthwaite, who played a major role in the protest, described the atmosphere of the night: ‘There was a great spirit of defiance. And determination. We all felt very strong and powerful.’ The protest wasn’t just a moment of retaliation – it was a moment of unity between women. In 1977, 12 other cities joined the fight for female liberation, demonstrating how this collective anger was felt throughout the nation.
London’s respective Reclaim the Night protest attempted to tackle a broad range of gender issues. Protestors placed stickers over objectifying images displayed in sex shop windows and misogynistic adverts, replacing them with messages such as, ‘This degrades women, this exploits women.’ Initial protests sparked a female liberation movement that pushed past the darkness and into the light of day, tackling common fears that women faced. This is what feminism has always meant to me – a lens through which we can re-examine society.
However, in October 1978, a protest in Soho was met with significant backlash. 16 women were arrested, all of whom were aggressively handled by the police. Rather than the blame being placed on the officers, it was laid on the protesters, who were viewed as confrontational. This highlights the failure of the police’s ability to help women, and instead holds them responsible for their suffering, perpetuating the very same narrative that these feminists were trying to fight against.
The marches waned in frequency from the ‘90s onwards, but they still have a fundamental legacy. In fact, the movement was revived in 2004 by the London Feminist Network. While their initial protest was led by just 30 women, the following year it increased to almost 1000. Even though years have passed since the initial protests occurred, that doesn’t mean that a fear of the night is something that women still don’t tackle today. In recent years, the idea has grown that feminism has become “irrelevant”, especially to young people. But, these protests go to show that it is unequivocally needed, especially now.
We can see that action is still needed through incidents such as the horrific death of Sarah Everard, who was abducted and killed in March 2021 by Wayne Couzens, a police officer. It showed, yet again, how little trust and support are available for women. Even at Everard’s vigil, police clashed with those in attendance. Inspired by previous marches, the Reclaim These Streets (RTS) organisation was created in response, showing that the legacy of Reclaim the Night still lives on. Anna Birley, a founder of RTS, stated that, ‘It felt like the narrative around Sarah’s disappearance started to be about doing the right things to not be attacked,’ which was the same spark of the 1977 protests. Birley acknowledged that many people commented on what Sarah Everard could have done to prevent her own attack, rather than condemning her killer. Why do we still have this problematic discourse when we should be criticising the perpetrator? Although it can be said that things have improved for women over the years, has anything really changed? It is evident a woman’s experience of assault will always be undermined.
It has been almost half a century since the first Reclaim the Night march, yet not much has improved. We are still fighting for the same cause – women are still taught not to walk alone at night. We are bombarded with ways to protect ourselves, and told to walk with our keys between our fingers in case they need to be utilised for self-defense. It still feels the case that, if women aren’t careful, they will be blamed for the violence inflicted upon them. Female solidarity, then, is the only way forward. The legacy of the Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group must still be upheld, today and forever.
