Teens stand up against danger
A GROUP of teenage girls are staging the first Reclaim The Night walk through Hartcliffe to raise awareness of women not feeling safe in the area.
The three schoolgirls said many young girls, and boys, won’t go out in the evening because of the threat of danger.
Similar walks and events have taken place in the city centre in Bristol for years.
The group are inviting anyone who feels strongly about the issue to join them on Saturday evening for a procession through the streets of Hartcliffe after dark.
Lannie, Kiera and Ruby formed a Social Action Group that meets every Monday from 5.30pm in the Symes community centre, and the Reclaim The Night event is one of several projects they are getting involved with.
Lannie said: “Our community faces a lot of problems that are aimed towards young people and there isn’t really any support for those problems. Somebody needs to help them.”
The group said the issue of women’s safety after dark affects everyone.
They said: “We want to promote a culture where people will feel safe to walk around the community in the dark, especially women who can be targeted by abuse and harassment, as we have found.
“We want to spread awareness regarding rape culture, something that was highlighted a lot in the news over the last year with events such as [the murder of] Sarah Everard really showing the need to educate society around the dangers, and also how people’s actions can make others feel.
“We want this event to be all-inclusive so that no matter your background, you can join us to raise awareness by walking through the streets of Hartcliffe and Withywood.
“We want to invite along all the different organisations so we can all try to ‘reclaim the night’ within our community.”
Avon and Somerset police will also be there to show support, and to hand out free attack alarms, and the event has been backed by local city councillor Kerry Bailes.
She said: “Young people in this area are often overlooked and unheard so it’s inspiring that they are taking action to highlight such an important issue.
“Women and girls safety should always be a priority, especially in our area where violence against women and girls, especially in domestic relationships is much higher than in other areas.”
Meet at 6pm on Saturday at the community room at the Symes centre near Morrisons, with the walk to set off at 6.30pm. The circular route takes in the Hartcliffe Inn, Mowcroft Road, Fulford Road and Willmott Park.