Eastbourne women march through night to highlight street safety

A group of around 20 women marched for 12 hours through Eastbourne to shine a light on street safety at the weekend.

Organised by Natasha Peacock and Katherine Noakes, from 7pm on Saturday (November 20) until 7am on Sunday (November 21) a group of women walked through the town.

Members of the ‘Women Walk At Night’ group were holding signs revealing statistics about women’s safety as they walked.

Speaking at the start of the march, Natasha said, “We wanted to do something to raise money and awareness for women’s safety due to the way things have gone this year. We’d done a 100-mile walk before but then thought why don’t we walk at night which is when women feel most unsafe. We should be able to do this without fearing for our lives.

“I put out a story on Instagram asking people about their walking at night experiences and had hundreds of responses. Most women were relieved when they got home that they were still alive.”
Katherine said, “Some women won’t even walk to their car if it’s in another street or make a short journey if it’s dark. They’d rather stay in, out of fear.”

Natasha said, “We want women to feel empowered. It’s fear and silence that keeps these things happening. It’s highlighting it for men by telling them how we’re feeling.”

Katherine said ‘attitudes have to change’.

Tina Worboyes attended the march and works in social services.

She said, “We want women to come forward and feel empowered by seeing us stand together. Something like this empowers women – it’s such a good forum for women and there’s not enough of that.

“The more we raise awareness, the more money gets put into these services. All led by people who have lived experiences too rather than just professionals. Women who have lived through it can form the future.”

Natasha, Katherina and Tina have all experienced domestic violence which is why this message is so important to them.

Natasha said, “I just didn’t want to sit around and wait for anyone else to do something.

“I want my son to grow up respecting women and I want my daughter to grow up and know that she needs to be respected.”

Vanessa Gatword also attended the march after her dad saw a sign for it up in a cafe.

She said, “It’s such an important cause and close to our hearts.

“As you get older you hear more and more about male violence against women and know people who have been affected by it. It’s really hurtful to hear and not nice to know people around you have been affected.”

Vanessa said the rise in spiking incidents this year is ‘so scary’.

She said, “It’s sad that it makes women not want to go out and enjoy evenings because they’re scared.

“It’s prominently women affected by male violence and it doesn’t seem to be changing, it’s getting worse.

“When you’re in a town it can feel like your voice isn’t heard as much as those in cities so it’s important to turn out to these events to make sure your voice is heard.”

Friends Freya Lewis, Flora Bamforth, Lily Hewett, Isla Budd, and Brianna Mumford came to the march as a group.

They said, “It shows solidarity. We’re united and bringing a comfort to the streets tonight. We want to help and make people more aware. We need to stand together and show support for others.

“The stories on Instagram struck a chord with us, we want to help however we can.

“We want other survivors to know that they’re not alone and you can take back the streets.”

Natasha was one of the residents to organise a vigil for Sabina Nessa in the town in September. The vigil included speeches on male violence against women and finished with a minute’s silence.

The march was also raising money for Rosa UK, a charity that supports women and girls whose lives have been affected by male violence.

Natasha hopes to organise similar walks in Brighton and London, and the group is working with domestic violence teams in Eastbourne to help women in the community.

The group can be found on Instagram (@womenwalkatnight_) and Facebook (@womenwalkatnight).