Hundreds of people will be packing Victoria Park on Thursday evening for Take Back the Night, an annual demonstration against sexual and gender-based violence.

The international event is organized locally by the Women’s Events Committee (WEC) and organizers say the turnout each year is diverse.

“We get a really strong group of youth from Western [University] and Fanshawe [College] who are starting to, unfortunately, see the effects of rape culture and systematic violence and understanding the importance of being safe in the streets and are starting to be critical of these systems,” said Jenna Rose Sands with WEC.

“There’s long-standing members of the community — a lot of children, my daughter included, who’s been going to Take Back the Night since she was born.”

People will begin gathering at 5:30 p.m. for sidewalk chalking and sign-making at the northwest corner of the park. The rally gets underway at 6:45 p.m. and the march is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

“We are focusing on Indigenous women and the federal report that just came out this year on Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls,” Sands added.

“So we’re highlighting the day-to-day violence and the structural violence that Indigenous women face.”

According to the event’s Facebook page, Take Back the Night in London is “committed to increasing the accessibility and inclusivity of our events” and anyone with specific accommodation requests or questions is asked to contact them through Facebook Messenger or at [email protected].

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