We hear so much of protests around the world in the aftermath of horrific rapes and sexual assaults. However, it’s not only in these countries where women are viciously attacked, and the UK has a pretty poor record when it comes to conviction of rapists, too (fewer than one in 30 rapes leads to a conviction). Defying the assumption that Britain’s more civilised than these far-flung countries, thousands of protestors took to Glasgow’s streets to rally against the surge of sexual attacks in the city.
Police confirmed to STV that 4,500 participants turned up to the event, who marched in a circle around where a 24-year-old woman was raped last month. In this area, there have been four other similar attacks, including a gang rape, in the past five weeks.
Organisers Ashley Crossan and Amanda Johnston, who are part of campaign group These Streets Were Made For Walking, say the event was an important public milestone: ‘It was a show of solidarity in support of the victims of rape and a call to action, to encourage more police presence and support in this area and to make sure that these kind of attacks on our mothers/sisters/daughters/spouses (and indeed fathers/brothers/sons) never happen.'[
#TheseStreetsWereMadeForWalking seems like a nod to the Take Back The Night marches of the 1970’s, where protestors would march through an area’s streets at night to show solidarity for women who walk alone at night in cities. Though around 90 per cent of British women who are raped know their attackers, according to Rape Crisis, there is still a heightened sense that walking alone after dark isn’t safe, that a street, no matter how brightly lit by streetlights, just isn’t a place for a woman to be. These sorts of marches set out to flip this around and help women feel they can take ownership of the streets again.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.