Sydney women reclaim the night

Hundreds of people marched through the city to demand a world without violence against women in the annual Reclaim the Night protest last Friday.

The global event, which is held on the last Friday in October each year, saw people march from Town Hall to Martin Place speaking out against sexual violence.

Marrickville Socialist Alliance candidate for the 2011 state election and long-term activist, Pip Hinman, said the rally provided an opportunity for women to assert their right to be part of society in an equal way.

“Women should be able to feel safe in the community … that’s not what we have at the moment,” she said.

“We have a situation where I think about 20 per cent of women over 15 have had some sort of sexual violence happen to them.”

The global initiative is aimed to increase public awareness and support for the issue.

“Violence against women is a huge social issue and one I think we should stand up to combat at every opportunity, as publicly as possible,” HSC student Georgia Scott said.

Professor of Law and Indigenous Studies at the University of Technology, Larissa Behrendt, spoke about the misconceptions surrounding Aboriginal tolerance of sexual violence.

“There is a very strong perception among the public that Aboriginal culture endorses violence against women and it’s simply not the case,” she said.

The protest also provided an opportunity for the myths in the community surrounding sexual violence to be dispelled.

Numerous banners were held high saying “soliciting for change” and “stop the war on women”.

“We have sexism in society . . . women feel disempowered to be able to do exactly the same things that men can do in a normal day or a normal night,” Ms Hinman said.

“More than 18 per cent of women say they don’t go out at night because they don’t feel safe.”

But commercial developer June Scott said that despite the figures, women should not be discouraged to go out at night.

“Girls have got to continue going out at night and they have to take the risk, because you can’t live in a world that you’re afraid,” she said.

Similar protests were held around the world to demonstrate united women can resist fear and violence.

By Sophie Cousins