Take Back the Night protest against violence shutters some Hamilton streets
Published September 15, 2022 at 9:54 pm
The annual Take Back the Night demonstration against violence in Hamilton streets has closed down much of the downtown.
Take Back the Night has been organized by Sexual Assault Centre Hamilton and Area (SACHA) for more than 40 years. Throughout that time the event has focused on sexual violence against women, sexual violence and street harassment .
After decades of allowing only women to participate, SACHA expanded the event to include people of all gender identities for this year’s event.
The feminist organization describes this year’s protest on their website as, “returning to the roots of Take Back the Night, to honour the event’s origins and dream together where we can grow from here.”
“This event began as a protest against the powers that threaten our safety in public spaces, particularly walking the streets at night,” SACHA continues. “In 2022 we take back those streets as a collective, and proudly demonstrate that we deserve to exist safely in any and all spaces. All acts of revolution stem from love, and ours is no exception.”
As a result of the demonstration Hamilton prepared a variety of bus route detours around the event centred around Hamilton City Hall. Routes 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 20, 21, 34, and 51 are all affected in several ways. A full list is available on the Hamilton website.
Nine Hamilton police officers are on site at the march to ensure traffic safety and shut roads in the area, as legally required. Per an agreement with SACHA, they are not taking part in the protest itself and will stay as far from the demonstration as possible.
The organization requested this distance since, “We understand that the police do not create a safe environment for everyone.” They also have volunteers trained in de-escalation on site who will marshall the event to keep everyone safe on their own.
Please see below (and in alt text) our statement on #TBTN2022 : Police and Safety #TBTNrevolution #RevolutionRootedInLove pic.twitter.com/mauMgDfYFe
— SACHA (@SACHAhamont) September 15, 2022
SACHA has provided a list of all closed intersections that will have an officer stationed on them, including one “floater” officer.
Earlier this evening the demonstration featured community tables, live music and, for the first time, an Indigenous market.
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