The Aims of Bristol Reclaim the Night
We want Bristol Reclaim the Night to be more than just an annual expression of protest. In consultation with local organisation three actions have been proposed to make a lasting difference in our city and throughout the UK. Please click through to see how you can help us achieve these aims.
1. Help victim support organisations Bristol needs increased and sustained funding for services which support survivors of sexual violence. Providers of counselling and support services in our city have to scrape around for funding to stay open. Women can wait months to see a counsellor and men and ethnic minority groups can find it very difficult to locate and access resources. These essential services deserve proper funding so they can concentrate on helping more people in Bristol.
The Safer Bristol Partnership has secured funding for the new Rape Crisis centre. We want this essential service to have sustainable funding to continue in Bristol for years to come. Click here to find out more.
2. Educate on safety and respect to prevent sexual violence
We need to bust myths and misunderstandings about sexual assault which create a tendency to blame victims, exclude male victims and excuse behaviour such as verbal abuse and domestic violence. This is a human rights issue and needs to be understood in the wider context of abuses of the right to safety, freedom and equality. We need proper rape prevention education made available in schools and communities in our city to encourage more respectful behaviour and attitudes.
We want to support teachers and schools in Bristol to be able to provide full teaching of Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHEE) in secondary schools to raise awareness of young people about domestic violence through curriculum activities. Click here to find out more.
3. Improve justice systems and increase rape convictions In Avon and Somerset only 4.2% of rape cases end in a conviction. The national average is only 5.7% and declining. In no other crime is the victim subject to so much scrutiny at trial, where the most likely defence is that the victim consented to the crime. The Home Office recognises a “justice gap” in the reporting and conviction of rapes and we want a review of judicial systems and education of judges to address this failure in our courts. Click here to find out more.
We want Bristol Reclaim the Night to be more than just an annual expression of protest. In consultation with local organisation three actions have been proposed to make a lasting difference in our city and throughout the UK. Please click through to see how you can help us achieve these aims.
1. Help victim support organisations Bristol needs increased and sustained funding for services which support survivors of sexual violence. Providers of counselling and support services in our city have to scrape around for funding to stay open. Women can wait months to see a counsellor and men and ethnic minority groups can find it very difficult to locate and access resources. These essential services deserve proper funding so they can concentrate on helping more people in Bristol.
The Safer Bristol Partnership has secured funding for the new Rape Crisis centre. We want this essential service to have sustainable funding to continue in Bristol for years to come. Click here to find out more.
2. Educate on safety and respect to prevent sexual violence
We need to bust myths and misunderstandings about sexual assault which create a tendency to blame victims, exclude male victims and excuse behaviour such as verbal abuse and domestic violence. This is a human rights issue and needs to be understood in the wider context of abuses of the right to safety, freedom and equality. We need proper rape prevention education made available in schools and communities in our city to encourage more respectful behaviour and attitudes.
We want to support teachers and schools in Bristol to be able to provide full teaching of Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHEE) in secondary schools to raise awareness of young people about domestic violence through curriculum activities. Click here to find out more.
3. Improve justice systems and increase rape convictions In Avon and Somerset only 4.2% of rape cases end in a conviction. The national average is only 5.7% and declining. In no other crime is the victim subject to so much scrutiny at trial, where the most likely defence is that the victim consented to the crime. The Home Office recognises a “justice gap” in the reporting and conviction of rapes and we want a review of judicial systems and education of judges to address this failure in our courts. Click here to find out more.
Local Organisations
It is important to us that Bristol RTN represents organisations in Bristol. We are in touch with local women’s group and victim support organisations to inform the three aims of Bristol Reclaim the Night. We use RTN to raise the profiles of local organisations and add strength to their campaigns.
If you or your organisation has suggestions to bring to RTN, or if we can promote your campaign, please get in touch so that we can work together.
Thank you to the following groups for their statements of support for Reclaim the Night:
Bristol Amnesty Group
Amnesty International has campaigned since 2004 against the ‘hidden’ violence that affects women and girls. It does so on the basis that living in safety is a universal right, not a privilege, for women everywhere. Women have been shown to suffer disproportionately from violence, with the crimes being ignored and rarely properly punished.
In the UK there are some very sad statistics about the response to violence and rape. For example, in a poll conducted for Amnesty in 2005, 33% of British people thought that a woman would be partially responsible for being raped if she was wearing sexy clothes, flirting or had been drinking. The rape conviction rate in the UK is around 5% and one of the lowest in Europe. People’s attitudes and the low conviction rate have been shown to directly affect the likelihood of women reporting rape.
The answer to crimes against women is not for women to be prevented from, or blamed for, enjoying leisure activities. Nor is the answer for women to live under a curfew, be excluded from public space, provided with segregated spaces 'for their safety' or escorted by men.
Changing attitudes is very important. Reclaim the Night looks set to be a positive and peaceful initiative, which the Bristol Group of Amnesty will be happy to develop and support alongside the Bristol Feminist Network.
Amnesty International has campaigned since 2004 against the ‘hidden’ violence that affects women and girls. It does so on the basis that living in safety is a universal right, not a privilege, for women everywhere. Women have been shown to suffer disproportionately from violence, with the crimes being ignored and rarely properly punished.
In the UK there are some very sad statistics about the response to violence and rape. For example, in a poll conducted for Amnesty in 2005, 33% of British people thought that a woman would be partially responsible for being raped if she was wearing sexy clothes, flirting or had been drinking. The rape conviction rate in the UK is around 5% and one of the lowest in Europe. People’s attitudes and the low conviction rate have been shown to directly affect the likelihood of women reporting rape.
The answer to crimes against women is not for women to be prevented from, or blamed for, enjoying leisure activities. Nor is the answer for women to live under a curfew, be excluded from public space, provided with segregated spaces 'for their safety' or escorted by men.
Changing attitudes is very important. Reclaim the Night looks set to be a positive and peaceful initiative, which the Bristol Group of Amnesty will be happy to develop and support alongside the Bristol Feminist Network.
Victim Support Avonvale
Victim Support Avonvale is delighted to be participating in the Bristol Reclaim The Night event. We are already working in partnership within the Bristol Rape and Sexual Violence strategy group to look at effective ways to ensure better safety for women both on the streets and in their homes. As an organisation working with victims of crime, we want to ensure that Bristol is a safe area where women of all ages and all backgrounds can walk around, use public transport and feel confident about their personal safety and personal space at all times.
Bristol Women's Forum
The Women's Forum is delighted that the Reclaim the Night march is taking place in Bristol. When listening to women in the community at our open meetings, safety and education on relationships, sexual violence and respect remain a priority for women - there had also been many women wishing for a Reclaim the Night event to make this point. As a group that has lobbied the Council for many years on safety, support and services for victims of violence and sexual abuse, we fully endorse your aims and feel privileged to support it.
Bristol Fawcett Society
Bristol Fawcett Society is committed to actively supporting the Bristol Reclaim the Night event to be held on 20th February 2009. Bristol Fawcett is a local group of the national Fawcett Society which campaigns for equality between women and men in the UK on pay, pensions, poverty, justice and politics.
Over the last few years Bristol Fawcett has worked with others to improve local services for women affected by sexual violence and members are delighted to join this initiative by the Bristol Feminist Network to collectively take to the streets and demand our rights to walk out on the streets safely, day or night. Taking part in a Reclaim the Night vigil and march is an empowering activity which tells the world – largely still a ‘man’s (or patriarchal) world - that women do not accept the status, identities and limitations placed upon us and that when we take action together we are a strong and active force.
Bristol Fawcett Society is committed to actively supporting the Bristol Reclaim the Night event to be held on 20th February 2009. Bristol Fawcett is a local group of the national Fawcett Society which campaigns for equality between women and men in the UK on pay, pensions, poverty, justice and politics.
Over the last few years Bristol Fawcett has worked with others to improve local services for women affected by sexual violence and members are delighted to join this initiative by the Bristol Feminist Network to collectively take to the streets and demand our rights to walk out on the streets safely, day or night. Taking part in a Reclaim the Night vigil and march is an empowering activity which tells the world – largely still a ‘man’s (or patriarchal) world - that women do not accept the status, identities and limitations placed upon us and that when we take action together we are a strong and active force.
One25
One25 fully supports the aims of Reclaim the Night and are proud to be participating in the event again this year. We too believe that everyone deserves to be safe from violence on our streets and that everyone deserves the same high level of support if they are attacked, regardless of their personal background.
The majority of the sex-working women that One25 support were abused as children and continue to suffer from sexual and physical violence in their adult lives. In 2009, female street sex-workers in Bristol reported 173 violent attacks against them to the One25 team. Many of these attacks were rapes, including several horrific incidences of rape with weapons and gang rapes. We strongly suspect that many more incidences of violence go unreported.
One25 have helped these vulnerable women to report such attacks to the police and to the Bridge and this has led to an increase in convictions. Bristol now has the second highest reporting and conviction rates for violence against sex-workers in the country. We applaud the courage of these women in coming forward and seeking justice, we value the sensitivity and dignity with which local agencies treat them and we fully endorse the aims of Reclaim the Night in highlighting the need for safety and respect for all.
One25 fully supports the aims of Reclaim the Night and are proud to be participating in the event again this year. We too believe that everyone deserves to be safe from violence on our streets and that everyone deserves the same high level of support if they are attacked, regardless of their personal background.
The majority of the sex-working women that One25 support were abused as children and continue to suffer from sexual and physical violence in their adult lives. In 2009, female street sex-workers in Bristol reported 173 violent attacks against them to the One25 team. Many of these attacks were rapes, including several horrific incidences of rape with weapons and gang rapes. We strongly suspect that many more incidences of violence go unreported.
One25 have helped these vulnerable women to report such attacks to the police and to the Bridge and this has led to an increase in convictions. Bristol now has the second highest reporting and conviction rates for violence against sex-workers in the country. We applaud the courage of these women in coming forward and seeking justice, we value the sensitivity and dignity with which local agencies treat them and we fully endorse the aims of Reclaim the Night in highlighting the need for safety and respect for all.
The Bridge, Bristol’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre
Reclaiming the Night is an event where all members of community can come together to acknowledge the impact of sexual violence. It is an event that promotes the notion that the night ‘should’ be a safe time for all.