In the wake of a recent stabbing, this year’s Reclaim the Night is more important than ever

Trigger warnings: Death, Sexual violence

The horrific killing of Elianne Andam, a 15-year-old student on September 27 in Croydon, tells us all we need to know about misogyny in the 21st century. It is awful to face the fact that gender-based violence is still so prevalent and that no matter how we attempt to minimise risks to ourselves, threats like that faced by Elianne Andam – the girl who was killed on her way to school by a 17-year-old boy – still exist. So as communities around the country and around the world react to yet another case of violence against women, how can we and how should we, in Manchester, react?

“Text me when you’re home safe.” It is a simple phrase that many of us will have told our friends, in the hope that it will combat the fear of walking home in the dark, or even in the daytime. The fear is twofold: both the sender and the receiver feel anxious about the possible threats posed by the very fact that a woman is travelling from one place to another. Yet the phrase is not enough to make anyone feel safe, and as this tragic killing has shown us, the culture of misogyny exists throughout society.

The fact that a simple rejection of advances, an expression of autonomy and freedom of choice, ended up with a schoolgirl being killed shows that small acts of sexism can grow into shocking acts of violence. Yet, in 2023, how many more people must face gender-based violence for attitudes in society change? And what are the University, the government and other institutions doing about this problem that creeps into all aspects of our lives?

As a female student in Manchester, I can only offer my thoughts on this because I know that the problems faced by misogyny are different for different members of our community. But I, like many of my friends, have encountered sexist comments on a night out, or have been made to feel uncomfortable both in the city centre and around campus, and this is something which needs to be stamped out across the city. But there remains the question of how we can express this desire to say that enough is enough and that we will not stand by as incidents of violence happen.

As a third year, this year will be my third time attending a ‘Reclaim the Night’ demonstration here in Manchester. For those who haven’t heard of Reclaim, it is the “annual campaign against sexual harassment and gender-based violence” run by the Students’ Union. As reported by the government, students are “three times more likely than average to have experienced sexual assault.” This is more than just a statistic for many students in Manchester, and whether it comes as misogyny from other students or from other members of society, it is something that many people face. Therefore, the campaign aims to raise awareness of this awful fact and to show that as students we will not stand as silent witnesses to this.

But having attended two other Reclaim events, as I know many others have also, there is a temptation to think that yet another march is pointless. There are also questions of whether anything has really changed in 46 years since the first march in Leeds because women are still being killed by virtue of their gender. In fact, to anyone reading now, you may also be questioning whether there really is any point in wrapping up warm to go out on a cold November night and shout in the streets. It may seem like yet another fruitless attempt to end sexual violence.

But rather than not attending, I think that in the wake of this stabbing in Croydon, it is all the more important that students come together once again for Reclaim the Night.

It is important that we are not silenced, and that once again we demonstrate that we will continue to stand up in the face of misogyny. We may be disheartened by further events of violence against women, but I believe that we should instead see this as a reason to show that we are not tired of fighting for women’s and those of marginalised genders’ rights. This Reclaim the Night will prove to be another year where we commit ourselves to showing that it does not matter how long it takes, we will continue to fight until we break this culture of misogyny and gender-based violence.

This year’s Reclaim the Night demonstration will take place on November 29.

If you have been affected by the article or the topics discussed in it, there is help available. Manchester Rape Crisis is an organisation “committed to providing a safe space in which survivors can heal.”