We went to Reclaim the Night and asked people why they were marching

On Thursday 25th February we attended Reclaim the Night to demonstrate the right to walk the streets at night, free from sexual violence, assault and street harassment.

We asked people what they were marching for.

Will, second year, Physics

“I am marching because there is a severe rape culture in the city and that has to be stopped. It’s not fair on women. People get told ‘Don’t get raped. Dress well’. Well no, you should have a great time and go out. Some of my friends, especially my female friends, always tell me how they get harassed in clubs and that has just got to stop.”

Grace, third year, Linguistics

“I’m marching because people don’t feel safe walking the streets in Manchester. We live in a first world country… We ought to feel safe at home.”

Perisha, third year, English

“To raise awareness for sexual violence on the streets and to stop men from raping women.”

Olivia, second year, Marketing

“I’m marching to support all the women and all of our rights that we have because it’s our body and our choice.”

Natasha, second year, Journalism

“I’m marching because back home in America I am part of the ROTC program (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) and I do it every year. As a woman in the air force it happens to be a thing where a lot of women get raped. It is very unfortunate and I’ve known many people who have been raped and it’s just a very tragic thing.

“In support of them and in support of all the women out there I just feel like it’s the right thing to do and just to make people more aware of what’s actually going on around campus.”

Ali, first year, Material Science

“I am marching because I thought it would be a good experience. This is a big student protest run by students for students. I just wanted to see what it was like from the inside.”

Jessica, first year, Law

“Today we are marching to feel safe at night. There is no reason why a woman or a man should feel unsafe coming back from a night out. It’s important that society understands that this is an issue. It’s not a myth and we are all victims of it: especially at this age where we have drunken nights out. I think we have to educate students that ‘no means no’ and there is no ifs and buts about it.”

James, second year, Ancient History and Archaeology

“Because everybody deserves to be safe”

Jack, second year, Modern History and Politics

“Because it’s a non-gender specific problem. I think that we need to be unified to deal with the problem so I am here because I feel passionate about it so we’ve got to reclaim the night.”

Beatriz, second year, Philosophy

“I am marching because I believe every person has the right to feel safe on the streets of Manchester and that is not the case right now.”