'He forced his hands between my legs': Reclaiming Blackpool from the scourge of sexual harassment against women

“A man walked past and stopped to ask me the time,” she says. “When I moved my hands to take out my earphones he lunged forward and forced his hands between my legs. It was really scary. You just don’t expect it at that time in the morning, in broad daylight. If I’d been outside the pub at the bus stop at 11 o’clock at night off Central Drive, I’d kind of be on the lookout for something to happen to me, but just at the bus stop when there were other people there, it was shocking.” Kate says she is mad at herself for how she reacted – pushing the man away, shouting “What are you doing?”, then bursting into tears and running away. “I just wish I had said ‘Somebody grab that guy!’ or even done it myself, because he wasn’t big, but instead I just felt so violated and upset and scared.”

Kate’s is one of 80 stories shared by women in Blackpool aiming to highlight their precarious safety in public places. With the option to remain anonymous, they have been filling in a simple online questionnaire, with details of where they have encountered sexual harassment in the town, which are then plotted on an interactive map. Testimonies range from serious incidents such as indecent exposure and drink spiking to the kind often deemed ordinary, like catcalling and verbal harassment. Brought together under the banner Reclaim Blackpool, the grassroots project was started by local women in April 2021, following the abduction and brutal murder of Sarah Everard and the subsequent cry from women across the country to Reclaim These Streets.

At the time a survey by UN Women revealed that 97% of women have been sexually harassed in public spaces and 96% of them do not report those situations because they believe it will not change anything. Reclaim Blackpool aims to challenge that, by empowering women to raise their voices and demonstrating that their complaints are valid – no matter how inconsequential they may seem. In 2020 research by Plan International UK revealed that Blackpool is the “toughest” place in Britain to be a girl, with six out of 10 girls in the town believing they were treated worse than boys because of their gender. Although many of them are historical and recorded by now adult women, around a third of the testimonies gathered by Reclaim Blackpool involve girls aged 16 and under. In one, a woman now in her twenties recalls a man trying to persuade her and her mother to get inside his car when she was five years old.

WE’RE SEW DONE

The project has already had some tangible outcomes. After seeing the map 20 participants from craftivist group Knittaz With Attitude came together to create a diverse range of powerful artworks under the banner We’re Sew Done. Their textile works of art were strategically placed in the locations plotted on the map before later being exhibited in Blackpool Central Library and brought together in a book, which also features in-depth interviews with some of the women who recorded their experiences and others who took part in We’re Sew Done.

SAFER STREETS

Meanwhile, in response to the ongoing national campaign for women’s safety, the government announced its £23.5m Safer Streets Fund to tackle violence against women and girls. Blackpool Council asked if it could submit Reclaim Blackpool’s map as evidence in its bid for a share of the money. It was awarded £550,000, which the council said was in no small part thanks to the testimonies gathered on the map.

IT (DOESN’T) STOP HERE

A portion of the money is funding the Green Dot bystander programme, which involves training on sexual abuse, domestic abuse and harassment, and will be delivered in schools and colleges as well as to door staff, bar staff and taxi drivers around the town. Local charity Empowerment also received a portion to roll out a campaign entitled It Stops Here. Reclaim Blackpool felt it was important that the mapping project didn’t stop here, however.

Now Empowerment is supporting and promoting it as one of the main pillars of the It Stops Here campaign. With its support, nearly 18 months from first asking women to share their stories, it has launched the website reclaimblackpoolmap.com – where the map can be viewed, stories can be read and women can record their testimonies. By illustrating that women are not alone in their experiences, the project also hopes to give them the confidence to report serious incidents to authorities and to seek support.

In a message on the website Lancashire Constabulary recognises that sexual harassment often goes unreported to police but encourages women to do so. It says: “No matter who you are, how long ago the incident happened or what took place, our prime concern is to give you the support you need. We’ll listen, understand, and guide you through the investigation process at a pace you’re comfortable with, whilst respecting your wishes.”

Kate did report the attack at the bus stop on Waterloo Road to the police. Although the man wasn’t found, she was pleased with how seriously her case was treated. But she says there have been countless other incidents she hasn’t reported and a lifetime of small uncomfortable interactions with men in public spaces have left their mark – manifesting in the way she behaves and dresses. “As a woman, you have to be so careful about how you act. When I was younger I dressed a lot more provocatively – shorter skirts, tight clothes and push-up bras – but I wouldn’t ever dress like that now. I just don’t want the attention. I’m sick of it – I’m nearly 40 and I just don’t want anyone to say anything to me when I go out at night. I’m just over it now,” she says.

By building a picture of the extent of sexual harassment in public spaces in the town, Reclaim Blackpool hopes to identify hotspots so people and places can be held to account and measures to counter it can be put in place by those with the power to do so. It also hopes its map will be used as an educational tool – most vitally for boys and men, who ultimately hold the power to end the harassment of women and girls in public spaces.

SIDEBAR

Talbot Road

2021, L, aged 34

“In a bar me and two friends put our drinks on a shelf which was on the edge of a balcony near the front door. I had turned to my friends and said I would wait with the drinks so they could have a dance. As I turned back to the drinks a man was leaning over and putting something in them. Literally took 10 seconds. I obviously lost it, called over the staff and doorman. The drinks were taken away and all tested positive for substances with a testing kit they had behind the bar. However, the men still had time to finish their drinks, wink at me before strolling out of the pub. My friends were a little dubious at first, thought I was overreacting, even made me doubt myself, but I knew what I had seen. I was absolutely devastated and the night didn’t last much longer.”

Stanley Park

1995, LG, aged 11

“During the summer my friend and I used to go to the park to play tennis on the tennis courts in the evening. Our parents were letting us have a bit more freedom at that age and it was a big deal. We felt very grown up. About half an hour into the game my friend stopped dead and said to me: “Don’t look behind you, just keep playing.” Of course I

stopped and looked behind me. There was a middle-aged man in the bushes looking at us. His pants were around his ankles and he was masturbating. I turned back to my friend and she said: “Just ignore him, he will go away.” We kept playing and eventually my friend said: “He’s gone.” I didn’t really understand what he had been doing, I just knew he shouldn’t have been doing it and it felt scary. After the game we walked home, we didn’t speak about it, we didn’t tell our parents in case we got in trouble and they stopped us from going out, but we never played tennis in the park again.”

Church Street

2019, aged 53

“I was physically grabbed by a man who was heavily under the influence of alcohol outside the Regent. On this occasion, it was raining, I had my umbrella up and didn’t see the

man until he literally threw his arms around me and tried to drag me with him, saying: “Come on, come home with me.” I was lucky that there were people nearby who had seen what happened and got him off me.

You can record YOUR story at reclaimblackpoolmap.co.uk

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If you need somebody to talk to, help is available.

Contact https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/rape-and-sexual-assault/ for confidential emotional support.

Contact rapecrisis.org.uk to talk to someone or get self-help support tools

Other helplines are listed here https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sexual-health/help-after-rape-and-sexual-assault/