Durham students light up the night: Campaigning for change against gender-based violence

Durham University students have launched a campaign to raise awareness of gender-based violence (GBV) and to demand systemic change. 

On Thursday, 5th December, students took part in a night run as part of the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which runs annually until 10th December – World Human Rights Day.

Organised by Safe Education in collaboration with the Amnesty Student Network, the Night Run aimed to create a safe and empowering space for collective action in Durham City Centre. 

The campaign challenges systemic issues, urging institutions and governments to shift the burden of safety from individuals to implementing structural solutions to effectively address GBV.

Safe Education is an independent campaign made up of students from Durham University, that was founded in April 2024 to tackle the culture and response to harassment and sexual violence across higher education institutions. The campaign advocates for structural changes, including enhanced education on sexual misconduct, better support for survivors, and dismantling the rape culture prevalent on UK campuses. Its launch was marked by an open letter to Durham University, demanding tangible reforms to make campuses safer, which gathered over 320 signatures from students, professors, welfare officers, sports societies, and the Students’ Union President.

The student group says their night run draws inspiration from the historic Reclaim the Night movement, which began in 1977 when women in Leeds protested police advice to stay indoors after dark in response to the Yorkshire Ripper murders. The original slogan “No curfew on women – curfew on men” remains central to demonstrations today, shifting the focus from victim-blaming to systemic changes needed to end gender-based violence.

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The Reclaim the Night is now a global phenomenon, hosting marches in over 30 countries: Similar student groups, such as those at Cardiff and Birmingham University, have also taken part to protest violence against women and girls.

Sexual violence remains alarmingly prevalent in society: the Office for National Statistics state that one in four women have experienced sexual assault from the age of 16. The urgency to address this issue in Higher Education Institutions is increased, as full-time students are four times more likely to face sexual assault compared to individuals in other occupations, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) for the year ending March 2022. 

The 5km run in Durham began outside Maiden Castle at 6pm. To accommodate varying abilities, the event was divided into two groups – one for runners and one for walkers. 

Participants carried torches and wore neon glow sticks. Hannah Langlois, Head of Events at Safe Education, told The Durham Tab: “It was so liberating running together at night; something that when alone can feel intimidating. This proves our strength in solidarity.” 

The student group continued by saying that the night run “challenged harmful societal expectations, reinforcing that the responsibility for changing behaviours lies with predators, not women. It was a reminder that it is time for institutions and the government to step up, and call for structural changes to adequately end gender-based violence and keep us all safe’’.