Reclaim the Night: Banner Making, March, Stall & Photo Competition

Reclaim the Night logo in green, black and purple.

2025 is the year that Wakefield had its first Reclaim the Night event, in collaboration with a wide variety of volunteers and groups from across the city and district.

A powerful evening of unity, visibility, and action. Together, we’ll raise our voices for safer streets and a better future for all.

On Thursday 27th November, representatives from LonGBoaT attended various events as part of Reclaim the Night. This included a banner making workshop, a stall at Wakefield Exchange, and the march through Wakefield city. LonGBoaT also hosted a photography competition to capture the event from the unique view of those participating.

The banner making workshop took place at Wakefield Library. We made two banners for the march, stating "All Women Deserve to Feel Safe" and "No Fear for Queers". This was a great opportunity to meet other people attending the march and discuss the wide variety of reasons we believe that advocating for women's safety is important. This includes the safety of transgender women, non-binary people, intersex women, and anyone with a gender diversity.

Photograph of 7 people (& a dog) holding the banners we'd made for the march.

There were multiple stalls at Wakefield Exchange from organisations supporting women's rights and safety. LonGBoaT had a stall next to Wakefield Wild Cats, who taught us all there is to know about roller derby! There was lots of interest in the LonGBoaT stall, where we shared information about the Safe Space scheme, Queer Social, Parents Groups, and Kirkgate Adoption.

We also shared information about our photography competition. You still have until 30th December to submit your photos of Reclaim the Night to be in for a chance of winning a voucher: 1st place £75, 2nd place £50, 3rd place £25! You can submit your photo entries by emailing: events@longboatwakefield.org (make sure to include your name, date of birth, and contact details!) We can't wait to see everyone's perspectives of the evening.

The march took place around the streets of Wakefield city, where attendees could be heard chanting:

Who's streets? Our streets! My body! My choice! Their body! Their choice! We have the power! We have the might! The streets are ours! Take back the night! Hey hey! Ho ho! The patriarchy's gotta go! What do we want? Safe streets! When do we want them? Now! Whatever we wear! Wherever we go! Yes means yes! And no means no! 2! 4! 6! 8! Stop the violence! Stop the hate!

The march attracted onlookers, who asked attendees about the purpose of the march. This was a great opportunity to spread the message about the importance of women's safety.

Overall, the event was a brilliant success and it felt like a groundbreaking moment to be part of the first event of its kind in Wakefield. We hope for days when events like this are no longer required, but until then LonGBoaT will continue to advocate and protest for safety on our streets.