Reclaim the night event to be held tonight in Northampton
The 'Reclaim the Night' march will mark 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
Women will take to the streets of Northampton tonight in protest against sexual violence and harassment.
The 'Reclaim the Night' march, which has been running since the 1970s,will see speeches and drummers as a group of women mark 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
Dawn Thomas is the CEO of Northamptonshire Rape Crisis who are behind the event. She tells us what she hopes the event, and the next 16 days, hope to highlight:
"To have more conversations about what is healthy, what is a healthy relationship, what is inappropriate, how do you challenge some of the the norms that goes on in society? ... It's about everybody challenging those inappropriate behaviours. It's calling it out. It's not being offensive, but actually saying is you know that that's not acceptable."
She says men and boys must play their part in calling out inappropriate behaviour:
"It's about men and boys as well, challenging each other in terms of what is a healthy relationship and being clear when it's not appropriate, you know, catcalling, whistling at somebody as they walk past isn't appropriate. It's actually quite scary for a young person on their own, particularly in the night-time economy."
The event began in the 1970s when instead of adhering to a curfew during the Peter Sutcliffe murders, women marched the streets calling for safety, for adequate lighting on the streets and adequate police officers patrolling the streets.
Dawn says these are things we are still asking for in 2025.
It starts at 6pm from Barry Road, Wellingborough Road Co-Op car park, and alongside the public this event is supported by many local organisations, including Voice, Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse Service (NDAS), Eve, Sunflower Centre and Serenity (SARC).
The plan is for the march to set off about 6:30pm, head along the Wellingborough Rd to Abington Street and then congregate at All Things Church.
A Reclaim the Night event will be held in Corby on Tuesday 2 December, and Wellingborough on Friday 5 December.