‘Women still feel unsafe to walk the streets'
It's been more than two decades since the first Take Back the Night March brought women and children into the streets to assert their right to safety on their own streets.
It's been more than two decades since the first Take Back the Night March brought women and children into the streets to assert their right to safety on their own streets.
Since the first march in Belgium, women's rights have expanded all over the world, but women still feel threatened, say local women's advocates.
"Women still feel unsafe to walk the streets,” Ketsia Houde, executive director of Les EssentiElles, said this morning of why the march is still held.
"We still feel unsafe to be out in our own city at night. Do men feel unsafe when they are walking alone? I don't think so. Women have the right to not feel aggressed.”
This year's Whitehorse march will take place Friday evening.
"Each year, the march mobilizes women to Take Back the Night, the streets and the public spaces for our own rights to feel safe anywhere, anytime,” Les EssentiElles spokeswoman Maud Caron said in a press release this week.
"Women demand safe and effective responses to the violence that we suffer, and that is trivialized in our society every day.”
The march continues to be a women and children-only event.
Although inviting men to participate in anti-violence campaigns has been the strategy taken by the Yukon's women's advocacy groups in the past few years, Houde said an important aspect of this event is for women to be doing it on their own.
"It's really for women to feel empowered and feel solidarity with each other,” Houde told the Star.
"We know it won't be having a huge impact on society, but it's empowering.”
In response to requests from men who wanted to participate in this year's event, Caron wrote on the public Artsnet listserv: "We know you only have good intentions by wanting to participate. Some men that have not so good intentions might want to participate as well.
"I guess that a woman victim of violence at home might not want her partner to come with her to this event.
How can we make sure that all women that night are going to feel safe and empowered?
"The answer for now would be to keep it a women and children-only event.”
Participants in this year's march will meet at Rotary Peace Park at 7 p.m. Friday.
The opening speech will be delivered by Kluane Adamek. The march will begin on First Avenue, proceed west on Main Street to Fourth Avenue, and go north on Fourth until the alley behind Black Street.
After two blocks on Third Avenue, it will turn east in the alley between Jarvis and Strickland, then head to The Old Fire Hall via Second Ave.
The march will be followed by snacks and live music at The Old Fire Hall.
Everyone is welcome.
Comments (7)
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Francias Pillman on Sep 15, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Quote all the numbers you want Helen. When you are a victim of violence, numbers don't matter, gender doesn't matter. You people separate us all, and put numbers and statistics to justify your hurtful stance that clearly states that if 80% of victims of violence are women, then the other 20% really doesn't matter, and has no say in their own life, based on what you are promoting. That 'Take Back the Night' should of included BOTH sexes, as you fight violence with 2, not of 1. To work together and make a difference in our society and prevent violence together as a Team. Nope your agenda separates us with numbers, percentages, and formulas into Genders and not on experiences. And then use public opinion polls as a weapon to fulfill your agenda. And as we all know that these polls and statistics are usually 98% made up to shape people's perceptions. Can you physically prove that those statistics you post are real. How do you know they are accurate? You can't, you just assume. Well, we all know the joke about when you ASSUME. You make an ASS of YOU and ME. That's unfortunately where you lose, and have no clue what kind of damage your ideology has on people and our society as a whole.
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Trevor Martin on Sep 15, 2010 at 12:26 pm
"89% of violent crimes are against women"? Give your head a shake! Even in the home women are the aggressors as much as men. Young males experience higher levels of violence from their mothers. Amongst our children today, females are almost as violent as our young men. On the street, men are the victims of violence vastly more than women. Then there is war, which is almost totally violence against men. You must be using a self-serving definition of "violent crime" far removed from the use or threat of physical force. By your definition, the perpetrators of these "violent crimes" against women must be mostly women.
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Nile on Sep 14, 2010 at 11:59 am
As a white male even I know that walking alone downtown at night is asking for trouble. I have had multiple run-ins with groups, specifically because I was white and alone. Good thing I can run fast.
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Helen on Sep 14, 2010 at 8:58 am
Maybe some statistics should be checked like did you know that 89% of violent crimes are crimes against women? yes there is an increase in woman going through courts due to violent crimes but there is also an increase in dual charging. The RCMP need training on primary agresser as well. How many men have you heard of latley being raped by a woman who was walking home alone at night. Yes there still is a higher risk of woman being victims of violent crimes and the majority of that time it is a male agressor. The Take Back The Night is to bring attention to that issue.
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Francias piilman on Sep 13, 2010 at 10:06 am
What a sexist gathering. Where is the walk for men? There is definitely an agenda here. Women are not the only victims of violence. Women are not the only ones scared to walk the streets at night. I would be embarrassed to push such a hurtful one sided agenda.
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Trevor Martin on Sep 10, 2010 at 8:05 am
Do a little research. The vast majority of victims of violence are male not female. I deplore the fact that men and women are not safe to walk many of our streets at night. But the Take Back the Night program de-legitimizes male victims of violence and demonizes men, thus victimizing them anew, and attempts to misconstrue street violence as a female "victimhood" issue. It is not! Protecting society from violent criminals is everybody's business and sentences need to be much tougher than they are now for any crime involving the use of or threat of violence.
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anonymous on Sep 10, 2010 at 8:01 am
Everyone is welcome? Didn't the article just print that "the answer for now would be to keep it a women and children-only event"? Seriously...