OVER 100 people recently gathered on Bangor High Street to take part in a protest against violence towards women.

On November 29, men and women of all ages came together to take part in Bangor University Student Union's (Undeb Bangor) peaceful march.

The "Reclaim the Night" event was part of a wider campaign called "No Grey Area" in which people take to the streets to say no to sexual violence, harassment, rape and victim blaming.

The rally began at the clock tower in the city centre before ending at the Pontio Arts Centre.

Organiser, Mark Barrow who is Undeb Bangor's vice president for education, said: "The Reclaim the Night event was very successful as we had a lot of people turn up to support.

"It is very important that we organise events like these as nobody should be made to feel afraid when walking the streets at night.

"I think these types of marches visibly convey that message. The march exists to demand justice for victims of rape and sexual assault.

"It states that women should be able to walk the streets at night, without fear or reality of violence. Such marches thereby give women a chance to reclaim the streets of their towns and cities."

Local Member of Parliament Hywel Williams also attended the march and councillor Catrin Wager gave a rousing speech.

Speaking during the rally, she said: "Girls should be able to go on a night out and put their drinks down without fear of anything being dropped into it.

"They should be able to walk home without fear of being attacked and they should be able to wear any underwear that speaks to them."

A placard-making event took place at Pontio the night before the march. These signs, covered in inspirational messages were then used by protestors during the event.

Reclaim the Night originated in Leeds in 1977, as a response to women in West Yorkshire being advised to stay indoors, due to murders carried out by ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ Peter Sutcliffe.

Bangor’s version of the march, the first of its kind in the city since 2016, was part of Undeb Bangor’s Sexual Harassment prevention campaign, ‘No means No’, which began on November 26.

For other events being organised by Undeb Bangor, visit: @bangorstudentsunion on Facebook.