All interviewees are non-students, kept anonymous with their consent.
The 2026 Reclaim the Night march was held on the evening of Thursday 12 February, and saw hundreds of students from the University of Manchester, MMU, and other Manchester universities marching for the safety of women and marginalised genders. While this is particularly relevant for students, what’s it like to observe an event like this from the public eye?
The presence of Reclaim did not go unnoticed on the streets of Manchester. The march blocked around 50% of Oxford Road all the way from its start, at the UoM Students’ Union, to where it left the road, near St. Peter’s Square, undoubtedly disrupting travel for many. Disruption is seen as part of the purpose of a lot of activism, bringing the cause into the public view. It was clear that visibility was paramount no matter the public’s response, and being seen is just as important as being heard.
However, a general sense of interest rather than frustration was felt from the general public. Many onlookers paused their commutes to take pictures, with few joining in with the chants or the march. Despite this, the turnout at its final stop in Great Northern Square was evidently many more students than members of the public.
“Women feel empowered by marching. I personally don’t feel the need, but I’m in a safer area, and at the end of the day community is great to see,” says a woman in the St. Peter’s Square area.
The student community can seem like a bubble at times, contained primarily to Fallowfield, with 54.1% of its residents being students. Despite this, it’s important to consider the perspective of the wider city in this matter. It’s no doubt that certain areas feel safer than others – I’m sure many of us would much rather be alone at night in Rusholme than we would Moss Side. But it’s this base level of uncertainty that the march aims to target; fear is significant, however strong it may be felt.
Talking to the public showed that this ‘bubble’ is not just geographical, constrained to Fallowfield, but reflects the safety of young people in student-focused areas in the city. Reclaim the Night is a 49-year-old campaign, but older members of the public did not feel a pressure to march for their safety in the same way.
“I’m homeless. When I’m going places I feel like I’ve got to have eyes on the back of my head. It’s sick – we’re not getting better, we’re getting worse” says another woman towards the end of the march. She went on to reference the activism that sparked Reclaim the Night and similar movements, following systemic violence against women caused by crimes committed by Peter Sutcliffe in the 1970s. “We realised, it isn’t just about Peter Sutcliffe, it’s about women’s rights in general,” she went on to say.
Speaking to someone who has been affected by the cause since its origin highlighted the lack of progress that has been made in Manchester, despite the campaign being on its 49th year. A question asked by many was this: what can the University and we as students actually do?
Unfortunately, despite Manchester being a student-centred city, without a direct connection to the council, a lack of optimism around what can be done is evident, even after bringing a march as big as this to the City Centre. Repetition can easily become routine, and before long, activism can become ignored.
Around the halfway point of the march, a male member of the public interrupted the chants to shout verbal abuse at the crowd. While this was the only negative interruption, it certainly reflected some of the opposition to the cause and the backlash that is present for women simply standing up for their own safety. A sense of irony can be felt within these incidents, as although the fight is for street lighting and support systems, it mostly boils down to individuals and the misogyny that is rooted in parts of our culture.
The focus of these marches is often put down to ‘what can students do for systemic effec,t’ however the additional step of the relationship between us and the general public must not go missed. These are people affected by the same discriminations as us, and change will not be seen unless a wider audience listens to their demands.
