Bristol shines a light on night-time sexual harassment

More than 100 people marched through Bristol to take a stand against the sexual harassment of women.

The Shine A Light Parade aimed to show the city adopts a zero-tolerance stance on the issue.

Carly Heath, a council night-time economy advisor, said: "All sectors of the night time economy came together to spread a simple message: harassment is not tolerated in our city."

The parade was led by brass bands and saw people carrying illuminated poles.

It comes after a women's safety charter was launched in Bristol.

Ms Heath said: "A beacon of light and music shone through the streets of Bristol this evening.

"Improving the safety of women at night is vital and is a challenge which cannot be achieved without allies throughout the city.

"We know that many crimes against women at night go unreported but are widely witnessed.

"This campaign invites bystanders to call out unwanted behaviour, while empowering those working in the night-time economy to recognise and execute a zero-tolerance response to harassment in their venues and workplaces."

The march was organised by Bristol Nights, a council-funded initiative, as part of a wider campaign to highlight women's safety and improve the measures in place to help them.

The campaign has been given a £282,000 grant from the Home Office's Safety of Women at Night Fund and plans to train 1,000 night-time economy workers in dealing with cases of sexual harassment.

Co-ordinated by Bristol City Centre BID, it supports venue staff to implement a zero-tolerance approach in Bristol, while also promoting the need for anyone witnessing any unwanted behaviour in the city's night-time economy to immediately call it out to staff.

The protest took the form of two parades, one set off from Castle Park, and headed down Corn Street to Broad Quay and the other began at the Victoria Rooms in the Clifton Triangle and headed down Park Street to the city centre.

They converged at the Amphitheatre for speeches, poems and music.

"With performances from INJA, Booty Bass and an inspiring speech from councillor Nicola Beech, the crowds cheered, danced and shone a light on sexual harassment as the city unified to be active allies," Ms Heath said.

The parade also coincided with the unveiling of the first of two murals symbolising the city's stance against harassment, called 'It's Not OK' by Emily Joy Rich.

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