On Wednesday 29th November, the local community is being invited to take to the streets to show their support for a campaign that highlights the issue of violence against women and girls. The ‘Take Back the Night’ walk is being held in Penzance and will finish with a candlelit vigil.
Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join the event; men can show their solidarity by walking alongside women and actively taking a stand against harassment, abuse, violence, rape and objectification of women.
The walk will begin at 5.30pm at Wherrytown carpark and end this year at St Mary’s Church on Chapel Street, where the candlelit vigil will take place and the names of women who have died due to male violence will be read out in tribute. There will also be performances, talks and food available.
This is the third consecutive year the event has been held as part of the annual global initiative ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence’, with hundreds of people taking to the streets in the previous two years. A series of events will be held during the campaign period, with more information to follow.
Lizzie Matthews, Chief Executive Officer at West Cornwall Women’s Aid said: “Violence against women and girls remains a constant threat, which we only need to look at the number of high profile stories in the media in recent months to be aware of. We are calling on our local community to show their solidarity by joining us on 29th November and sending the message that gender-based violence must end.”
£2,950 grant funding has been provided by Penzance Council for the event and the wider 16 Days of Activism taking place in Penzance. Mayor of Penzance, Cllr Stephen Reynolds, said: “This is a powerful event with a powerful message, on an issue which is too often seen as someone else’s problem. We owe it to current future generations to call out gender-based violence, and to do all we can to make where we live a safe space for women and girls.”
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