Thousands of women around Australia rallied, marched and demonstrated last month to Reclaim the Night. Like International Women's Day in March, Reclaim the Night every October attracts feminists, women involved in various women's services (often under threat to their funding), women with children, students and women who may never have been to a women's march before.
The size and breadth of the marches are testament to the ability of the women's movement to reach out to new layers. The march has even become mainstreamed, in terms of an increased profile in the media and pledges of support. In Sydney, this included letters of support from the commissioner of police and Paul Keating, which were read out at the rally.
The marches have traditionally focussed on domestic violence and sexual violence. The demands usually include increased funding for women's refuges and support services, as well as the need for police to act to protect women in situations of violence. This could be done by removing the offender instead of the woman, and by enforcing existing legal measures to protect women. Others have also called for increased police powers to act in situations of violence against women.
Demands such as increased funding for refuges and women's services are crucial to women being able to achieve the economic independence which is a prerequisite for being free from abusive or violent home situations. There are many other measures that can be implemented, such as providing proper staffing on public transport at night, or the provision of better street lighting. Other steps include the implementation of compulsory education programs in schools to teach young people that violence is unacceptable.
At the same time, demands made in the context of the campaign against violence against women and children need to be consistent and really likely to advance their stated aim. One demand in particular that feminists should be wary of is the call to increase police powers.
For years it has been part of the feminist critique of violence that police do not act in the interests of women or the community at large. Violations of civil liberties, verballing and gross miscarriages of justice are frequently perpetrated by the police. When police generally are known not to act in the interests of the "victims", why should we assume that increasing police powers will suddenly cause them to use these powers in the way we want them to?
The commissioner of police, not a position generally held in high esteem by the women's movement, sees potential support for a "law and order" campaign at the Reclaim the Night march, and sends a message of support. A community critique of police behaviour and attitudes remains as relevant as ever, f interpreting such superficial responses as any real change in the character of the police force.
Events such as the Reclaim the Night marches, as they continue to grow, provide the best scope for addressing the real issues behind violence against women and children.
By Kath Gelber