Peacemarchis called off at the last minute
ORGANISERS of a peaceful women’s safety march in Glasgow’s South Side cancelled it “with a heavy heart”.
They said a lack of support from the council and the threat of prosecution and fines from Police Scotland were behind the move.
Campaigners Amanda Johnston and Ashley Crossan issued a statement on the ‘These Streets Were Made For Walking’ event, which had been due to take place on Saturday.
The march’s aim was to defend women’s right to walk the city’s streets without fear of sexual assault two years after a similar event saw thousands turn out in the area.
They said: “The council asked us to cover our event with Public Liability Insurance. We didn’t have this the last time, but their justification for this is because we are using a small stretch of a council-owned public park and, therefore, the council, and ourselves would be liable if anything were to happen to anyone who turns up on the night.
“They brought this information to us at a very late stage, about one week before the event.
“Even after we had given them six weeks’ notice that it was going ahead – two weeks more than legally required.
“It is a public park after all, but by not giving us official permission, it means we cannot work with them as we had hoped.”
Regarding the issue with Police Scotland, they added: “The community police – who we were in contact with at the early stages of the event – have, upon seeing the council’s denial of permission to use the park, now issued us with a notice. It states that if we go ahead with the walk, we will face prosecution for up to three months, and a fine of £500.”
The council denied the allegation that the insurance request was made ‘at the last minute’.
A spokesman said: “The requirement for suitable insurance is for the protection of everyone involved – and is made absolutely clear from the very start of the permission process. Our events team supports hundreds of community events every year and can assist organisers if they are unsure what cover they need.”
Both young women took it upon themselves to start the campaign in the wake of a number of sexual attacks and rapes in the community in 2014.