Reclaim the Night is an annual march organised by the Women’s Campaign that has been running for over ten years. It is run for women, non binary people, and anyone that holds women as part of their identity to reclaim and assert their right to public space and safety within them at night. It runs through Cambridge City Centre from Parker’s Piece, ending by King’s College*. 

Following the march, a vigil is held to share experiences and art, and to discuss how to move forward as a movement in Cambridge and beyond. While assembling on Parker’s Piece, there is a short rally with guest speakers. 

• This is a child friendly event. 
• Open to all women and non-binary people (not just students)
• For more information on this event, please contact: reclaimthenight@cambridgesu.co.uk

*The route is subject to change between years and we are in the process of planning what Reclaim the Night will look like in light of Covid-19.

THE HISTORY:

The Reclaim The Night marches started in the UK in the 1970s. In America they are known as ‘Take Back The Night’ and the first one was held in West Germany on April 30th 1977. In Britain they first began on 12th November 1977 when marches took place in Leeds, Manchester, Bristol, London and many other cities. The Reclaim the Night marches became even more significant when, in following years, a man called Peter Sutcliffe began murdering sex workers in and around Leeds. Feminists in the area were angry that the police response to these murders was slow and that the press barely reported on them. It seemed that it was only when young student women began to fall victim to this serial killer that the police started to take the situation seriously. Their response was to warn all women not to go out at night. This was not a helpful suggestion for any woman, let alone for those women involved in prostitution who often had no choice about whether they went out at night or not. Feminists and a variety of women’s and student groups were angered by this response. So they organised a resistance of torch-lit marches and demonstrations — they walked in their hundreds through the city streets at night to highlight that they should be able to walk anywhere and that they should not be blamed or restricted because of male violence.

Over the years the marches evolved to focus on rape and male violence generally, giving women one night when they could feel safe to walk the streets of their own towns and cities.

We march to against misogyny, transmisogyny, with sex workers, in favour of decriminalisation. We acknowledge the history of the Reclaim the Night March and march with the aim to revolutionise it.