WOMEN of Worcester are being urged to join a night-time walk across the city centre to highlight the need for them to feel free to go out at night in safety.

The Reclaim the Night march, to take place on December 5, will see women of all ages walking from the Cornmarket to the High Street in a bid to raise awareness of the issue.

It has been organised by the Worcestershire branch of the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) as part of the 16 Days of Action to tackle violence against women and girls initiative.

Branch leader Leisa Taylor said: “We know that women often feel unsafe at night, especially when they’re on their own in car parks, train and bus stations – public places where people should feel free to go at all times.

“So many women pretend to be on the phone, change their route home or cross the street when they don’t need to because they feel uneasy when they’re out at night – even in an apparently safe city like Worcester.

“We want as many women as possible to join us, walk with us through the city centre and help reclaim the night. We all deserve to feel safe in our public places, no matter who we are,” she added.

The event begins at 6.30pm and the women will gather outside the Be the Change café in the Cornmarket before marching along the Shambles and the High Street.

A minute’s silence and pop up tea party will be held at the end of the march.

The event is in partnership with West Mercia Women’s Aid, West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre and Worcester Community Trust and is part of a national series of marches taking place in late November and early December this year throughout the country.

One of the first Reclaim the Night marches took place in Leeds in 1977 where women took to the streets to protest , in part, the police requesting women to stay at home after dark in response to the Yorkshire Ripper murders.

For more details, visit the Women’s Equality Party Worcestershire Facebook page.