09/12/2022 - Women's Officer Leesha brought students together to attend the Reclaim the Night march held by the Suffolk Rape Crisis.
On Thursday 8th December, the Student Unions' very own Women’s Officer Leesha Daniells supported the Reclaim the Night march held by Suffolk Rape Crisis. This came within her manifesto to making Ipswich safer at night for students at the university!
The Reclaim the Night March began at Dance East Ipswich, followed by speeches at the University of Suffolk before a vigil to honour those affected by violence against women and girls. Leesha raised awareness for the event as well as creating posters for the march with students during one of her ‘Our Night’ events at Cult Bar.
Students were encouraged to meet at the SU and join Leesha in attending the march, it was a huge success! Students and staff turned up to the event contributing to over 100 attendees marching with our Women’s Officer, who then gave an empowering speech to conclude the night.
Fairy lights were handed out in jars in rememberance of those who had lost lives due to domestic violence and abuse, these were then displayed in our SU social space along with fantastic posters and signs that had been produced by students!
The event’s success was noted by the Ipswich Star who interviewed Leesha about why she felt it was important to attend this event. In which she replied saying:
"I'm here tonight because students need a voice in raising our anger at gender-based violence. As the University of Suffolk continues to grow and more students come to Ipswich, it's all the more important to ensure that we're safe here." Leesha also used this opportunity to point out to reporters the lack of lighting along the Waterfront, highlighting the poignance of the route of this year’s march.
Fantastic commitment from our Women’s Officer at the Students' Union.
We are proud to have such a passionate and committed member of the team who will stand up and empowers the women in our community at The University of Suffolk.