The 17th annual Take Back the Night March will take place in Whitehorse on Friday evening.

Beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Teegatha' Oh Zheh Park, on Main Street at Seventh Avenue, the women-only march is planned to proceed down Main and along the riverbank, an area identified as dangerous by the Whitehorse women's community.

"Take Back the Night provides a much-needed opportunity for the women's community to gather and assert our collective right to walk in safety – anytime, anywhere,” said Julianna Scramstad of the Victoria Faulkner Women's Centre.

"Freedom of movement is a precursor to genuine equality, and as long as women fear to walk in public spaces alone – due to unsafe taxis, inadequate transit, insufficient housing, patriarchy and colonialism – we will continue to march.”

Following the trek, a celebratory concert will be held, featuring Rising Sun, Furia Nova, Andrea Burgoyne, and Krystal Dawn and the KGB.

The concert, open to everyone, will take place at The Old Fire Hall at 8:30 pm. Both events are free.

This year, Take Back the Night occurs in solidarity with the Sisters in Spirit's Stolen Sisters campaign.

The opening speech will be delivered by the Yukon Aboriginal Women's Council's Winnie Peterson, in advance of the Sisters in Spirit vigil to be held Oct. 4. An opening prayer will be delivered by members of Rising Sun.

The events are a collaborative effort between the centre and the francophone women's organization Les EssentiElles, with funding from the territorial Women's Directorate.

Originating in the 1970s, the Take Back the Night march is a response to men's violence against women.

Strongly symbolic, the march's women-only nature signifies women's bold refusal to be fearful, and women's right to be safe – alone – in public spaces.

"Take Back the Night is also a call to action: to law-makers to ensure that laws addressing violence against women are sufficient, to law enforcement to assess the history and context of each abusive situation, to the City for accessible (evening!) transit, to our neighbours to guarantee that they'll act to address violence, and Take Back the Night is a call for action from men,” the organizers

said in a statement.

"It calls men to stand for peaceful, egalitarian communities, to shoulder responsibility as role models, to wear proudly a masculinity that unequivocally refuses to commit or condone violence against women.

"It calls men to organize parallel events, to create safe spaces for men to talk about their experiences of masculinity, to watch feminist films, to challenge sexist jokes and to cultivate a full and vulnerable humanity.

"And it calls men to respect the safe spaces of women – to allow women to organize independently, to call for the change we need and to fight for it – and to be ready to do the work when women ask for help.