March to highlight rise in violence against women

A Reclaim the Night event will start outside Grimsby Institute on Monday

A march to highlight violence against women and girls will be taking place in Grimsby following an increase in crimes.

The Reclaim the Night event is due to start outside Grimsby Institute at 18:00 GMT on Monday with people then marching through the town centre.

North East Lincolnshire councillors Emma Clough and Sophia Farren organised the event after being "shocked" by recent local statistics showing violence against women has increased.

Ms Clough said: "Going to meetings and writing letters is all well and good, but we wanted to do something for the community."

'Raise awareness'

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, crimes recorded as violence against women and girls rose by more than 26% to over 5,300 cases in North East Lincolnshire in 2023/24.

The march is part of the international 16 days of action for the elimination of violence against women which began on 25 November.

"The aim of the march is to raise awareness because obviously we are in the 16 days of action on violence against women and girls," Ms Clough said.

“It’s not a march for women, it’s a march for everybody, our allies as well. It’s friendly, it’s peaceful."

Reclaim the Night dates back to the women’s liberation movement in Leeds in 1977.

It campaigned for safety for women in public spaces at night until the 1990s.

The movement was revived in recent years and Reclaim the Night marches have been held in several places in Lincolnshire including Scunthorpe and Lincoln.

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