BECTU joins Soho women's march

The union's banner will be joining a Reclaim the Night march on Friday November 25.

Members who plan to parade the banner are asking other BECTU women to meet up with them in London's Soho Square before the march begins.

Reclaim the Night is a candlelit women's march which aims to highlight the dangers that women face walking the streets at night.

It takes place on the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, first organised in 1981.

Other events will taking place in cities around the world, with thousands of women marching in support of their right to enjoy a safe environment.

In London, the march will begin in Soho Square (Click for map), setting off at 6pm for Euston. There will also be a short silence in remembrance of women who have been killed while walking the streets at night.

Earlier this week an Amnesty survey revealed that 30% of Britons surveyed believed that women who are raped bear some responsibility for their fate. Organisers of the Reclaim the Night march hope to reinforce the right of women to walk alone without fear, no matter what they are wearing, regardless of the hour.

Every day, according to the Amnesty data, an average of 167 women are raped in the UK, but only one in five are confident enough to report the incident. Over their lifetimes more than 5% of women in England and Wales can expect to suffer a rape, based on current statistics.