45 Years On: Nottingham’s Annual Reclaim The Night March

The ‘Reclaim the Night’ (RTN) march returned to Nottingham on Saturday 22nd October 2022 after halting throughout the pandemic. An annual event for the past 45 years, the rally originates from Peter Sutcliffe’s (The Yorkshire Ripper) murders during the 1970s. To which a part of the police’s response to the constant threat of Sutcliffe was to advise women to avoid public spaces after dark. In retaliation to this ridiculous advice, women staged a protest where they sought to ‘reclaim the night’, and, ever since, this protest has become a tradition.

Although not always held annually, RTN protests have happened across the vast majority of major cities in the UK and abroad. The overarching theme of all of these marches -as was the theme of the march held in Nottingham - is ending violence against women.

RTN Nottingham started at Sneinton market and proceeded to march through the city centre, chanting things like: “women united will never be divided” and “whatever we wear wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no”. Armed with drums and megaphones, it felt like the march could be heard all across the city. Even if the noise of the march couldn’t be heard across the city, the message of it could certainly be felt. Misogynistic violence is an issue that seems as prevalent now as it did 45 years ago when these marches first began.

Naturally, there has been some progress, but it’s still generally understood that every woman or femme presenting person has had some act of violence carried out against them because of their sex or gender presentation. Whether that’s emotional violence (someone acting irrationally or angrily after being romantically or sexually rejected, for example), physical violence or sexual violence; all of them are vastly commonplace and deeply rooted in a disregard for our gender and sex.

Obviously, it’s a different - arguably more free - experience being a woman now than it was in the 1970s, but the frameworks of power that plagued women then are still in place now. The ignorant and misogynistic policing) that inspired RTN 45 years ago is still an issue. You only need to look at the advice police gave women if they were worried about the actions of an officer after the murder of Sarah Everard (call 999, flag down a bus or challenge their legitimacy) to see that their general attitude hasn’t really changed. They’re still putting the onus of safety and responsibility onto women and still denying the structural issues at play.

At the rally which followed the march, Nadia Whittome highlighted the issues that trans women, migrant women and sex workers face. Rose Khoshirat, the founder of Freedom for Iran, spoke about the humanitarian crisis in Iran.The march and rally was a great show of solidarity, and it was lovely to see women come together to support one another about issues at home and abroad.

By Poppy Read-Pitt

Design Page and Illustration by Catrin Dimond

20 HOUSE SHARE FROM HELL

“Was seeing a guy from NTU while trying to get along with his ex who was my housemate”

We’ve all had that one housemate that seemed to have a few screws loose or who just seemed to live life a bit differently from the rest of us. Love ‘em. Hate ‘em. It’s entirely up to you. But sometimes, housemates can really take the cake. Impact asked our readers for their worst housemate stories and rounded up the worst of the worst. Here are the stories that turn a house share into hell.

“They never dry their clothes. Just shoves them in a bag for life and leaves them. Whenever they want new clothes, they just grab some out of the bag, still wet, and put them on. We had to buy a new chair to get away from them and the smell”

“I used to live with a guy who only ever drank or did drugs. Never ate. Living life like Bon Jovi - sleeping around. Every morning I’d wake up to find his evening fling and have to break the news that he wouldn’t call her again because he would just ghost them.”

“My housemate – whose bedroom was directly above mine – used to bounce a ball whilst he studied.”