Six club members, Wendie Douglas, Kathleen Durning, Pam Grosvenor, Kay Mainwaring, Ann Pibworth and Margaret Smith, marked International Women’s Day (March 8) by attending a Reclaim the Night event organised by Sian Brooke, a student at Portsmouth University.
The occasion was billed as Portsmouth’s biggest and loudest grassroots protest against street harassment, victim-blaming, and all forms of sexual violence and abuse. It kicked off with some fun – volunteers painted people’s faces in the colours of women’s rights and feminism.
Survivors of sexual abuse gave moving first hand accounts of their assaults, there was also some poetry, an exceptional reading from a young man who spoke of men taking responsibility for their actions, and presentations by two Portsmouth organisations that gave an insight into working with individuals who have suffered sexual and domestic violence. They were Aurora New Dawn, offering support for survivors, and Portsmouth Area Rape Counselling Service, who help individuals in Portsmouth, Gosport, Fareham and Havant.
A second part of the event involved a protest march in the city centre that ended in Guildhall Square.