Film, Media & TV students from Wakefield College are taking part in the first-ever Reclaim the Night campaign in Wakefield, helping to promote women’s safety across the district.
The Reclaim the Night campaign in West Yorkshire has been coordinated by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) across five councils to ensure a united front for the women’s safety movement. The campaign demands for women and girls to feel safe in public spaces at night, addressing violence against women and girls (VAWG) – which makes up just under 20% of all recorded crime in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics).
Natalie Walton, Labour Councillor for Wakefield East Ward, has commissioned the College’s Media department to produce a student-led social media marketing campaign to promote the women’s safety march through the city on Thursday 27th November 2025 - encouraging participation from the wider Wakefield community.
Robert, Level 3 Film, Media & TV student, said: “I’ve really enjoyed working with representatives from Wakefield Council, the public and my classmates to support such an important movement such as Wakefield’s first Reclaim the Night campaign. I’ve had the honour of interviewing some key voices of the movement for the social media campaign, putting the interviewing skills I’ve learnt on my course into practice.”
Using the industry-standard studios and equipment at Wakefield College, the students have produced interviews with Cllr Maureen Cummings, Wakefield Council’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Champion, Steven Busfield from Empath Theatre and Maddie France from Blossom Training & Development about their various roles within the initiative.
These digital assets are being released via the various social media channels ran by the students to promote the march on Thursday 27th November.
Level 3 Film, Media & TV students from Wakefield College with Lecturer, Gemma Haigh. Photo Credit: Adrian Markowski.
The Reclaim the Night movement is rooted in West Yorkshire’s history, beginning in Leeds in the late 1970s, in response to the Peter Sutcliffe murders. Since then, demonstrations have been held across the country, mostly led by university students and feminist groups, demanding for the streets to be safer at night for women and girls and calling for an end to male violence.
In Wakefield, it’s the students at the local college getting involved and using their videography, photography and design skills to help raise the profile of the campaign.
Gemma Haigh, Film, Media & TV Lecturer, said: “I believe it’s extremely important for young people to be engaged in initiatives of this significance. Women's safety is a pressing issue, and the key to addressing it lies in education and amplifying women's voices. The students have demonstrated maturity and professionalism in dealing with such a sensitive topic and they display a genuine passion and commitment to raising awareness and driving meaningful change. It’s been a perfect opportunity for them to work with a real-world client brief and put their skills into practice.”
Faith, Level 3 Film, Media & TV student, said: “Reclaim the Night is a cause I really believe in, so I’m extremely happy to be involved and contributing to the campaign. My classmates and I took part in the banner making workshop hosted at WX Wakefield where people from across the city came together to make signs in preparation for the march.”
The degree-level Art & Design students from Wakefield College’s University Centre have also been involved in designing the official banner for the event. In the lead up to the march, the students have been researching the history of Reclaim the Night, exploring materials and creating samples. Once finished, their final banner design will be used for the Reclaim the Night March in Wakefield.
BA (Hons) Art & Design students from the University Centre at the Heart of Yorkshire Education Group creating banner samples for the Reclaim the Night March.
If you would like to find out more about the campaign and how you can get involved, please visit the campaign's website here, alternatively you can follow the social media channels on TikTok or Instagram.
If you would like to find out more about Wakefield College’s Film, Media & TV department, you can visit their website