Students at the University have organised a protest on Thursday 21st to reclaim the streets following a string of recent sexual assaults in the area.

The disco-themed march, labelled ‘Hype The Park #BoogieNotBlame’ calls on women, non-binary and trans students to collectively dance around Leeds’ Hyde Park in an effort to empower the student community.

A pre-party event will take place at 8.15pm outside the Leeds University Union building, welcoming students of all genders to support the campaign. The march is predicted to start later on at 9pm.

In a statement posted to the event’s Facebook page, LUU’s Political & Campaigning rep and organiser Rosie Collington clarified that the aims of the march were to ‘challenge the idea that women are responsible for sexual assault and emphasise the empowerment of walking home in groups and staying safe collectively’.

In just over a week, the campaign has attracted the attention of the local media and according to the Facebook event page, nearly 500 are expected to attend the event tomorrow night.

LSR station manager Lissie Day, who is also helping to organise the event said ‘this is a positive, lighthearted way of conveying a serious issue. Having a disco-themed protest makes it accessible and inclusive for students like me who haven’t been involved in political campaigns before’.

For more details on the march or to get involved, click here to visit the campaign’s Facebook event page or visit the Twitter page here.

 

Abla Klaa