Lady Power

According to the British Crime Survey (2001) there are an estimated 47,000 rapes every year, around 40,000 attempted rapes and over 300,000 sexual assaults. After reading those figures, constantly checking over your shoulder on a walk home suddenly doesn’t seem like such a paranoid move. Ironically and rather depressingly, however, the conviction rate is the lowest it’s ever been, which is one of the things that Reclaim the Night wants to change.

The organisation marches to demand justice for rape victims and for the right to use public space without fear or hesitation, which can often seem to be a basic civil liberty and human right that is denied to many women. On Sunday 8 March, Reclaim the Night will take to the streets in Edinburgh as one of many events nationwide marking International Women's Day, protesting against the tolerance of violence against women in Scotland. A member of the group explained: "The march is about reclaiming not just the streets and night but our lives - demanding the right to be safe and free from fear." This grassroots movement has inspired many across the country with women’s groups, student unions and trade union groups, among others, putting together their own local marches to involve women and men in their regions.

Other events include Edinburgh Women’s Equality Forum drop-in day, hosted together with Lothian and Borders Police on 6 March in the City Chambers Business Centre, offering anyone the chance to speak to people from various organisations, including police, council, NHS and voluntary women's groups.

There’s also more light-hearted gatherings taking place, such as Blackwell Bookshop’s free evening of poetry and music on 5 March, featuring Tessa Ransford, the founder of the Scottish Poetry Library, as well as Morelle Smith and Anne Clarke, both members of Scottish PEN’s Writers in Exile Committee. You can even submit your own scribblings; Scottish Women’s Aid is asking all and sundry to submit their thoughts on what it means to be a woman in 2009, in the form of poem, art or photograph, compiling all the entries into a future exhibition. In Glasgow, the Everywoman Conference Scotland takes place on 3 March, a support and networking event for female business owners and those looking to join their ranks.

Reclaim the Night, International Women’s Day, End Violence Against Women, Rape Crisis, and countless other organisations strive to move beyond the negative perceptions of feminism and of women as victims, seeking to inspire, educate and support women across the country. As Natasha Walter, author of The New Feminism puts it: “Reclaim the Night reminds us that women are still able to create change.”