Hundreds march through Melksham streets for women’s safety

Nearly 500 women and girls took part in a glow-in-the-dark march through Melksham’s streets on Friday 6th March, calling for safer streets for women.

The Free the Night event, organised by domestic abuse charity FearFree in partnership with Melksham Town Council, saw around 500 residents march through the town with glitter tattoos, face painting and homemade banners raising awareness of women’s and girls’ safety.

The walk finished at King George V Park, where there was live music, belly dancing and food from Evie’s Kitchen.

FearFree is the Melksham Mayor’s chosen charity of the year and works to break the cycle of domestic and sexual abuse.

Mayor Saffi Rabey said, “It was really important for me to nominate FearFree as one of my chosen charities for my mayoral year. It is such an important message to get out there and, when we were given the opportunity to hold the event Free the Night, it was a great way to promote the ability of not just women but men, and whatever sexuality you are, to own the streets.

“We don’t need to be scared to be out, be involved in things and be able to walk freely. To have close to 500 people here is incredible. It’s been amazing.

“The volume of cars that were beeping their horns as we went past, people in pubs waving through the windows, people passing through the street, shows it was not just a message to those who were here this evening but a message to the entire town.”

Chief Executive Officer of FearFree, Debbie Beadle, said, “This has been such an exciting night. FearFree supports people affected by domestic violence and stalking across Wiltshire. It’s really important that we all take responsibility for that, and this is just a night to come together, making sure that the streets are safe and meeting new people.

“It has been so inspiring to see how many people have come together to make the event happen. It’s really wonderful.”

In the run-up to the event, there was a banner-making workshop at Doubles on Avonside.