Blood Orange #3

BLOOD ORANGE ZINE is a queer feminist zine based in Liverpool. No TERFs, no bigots.

Our theme for Issue 3 is Reclaim the Night, which originated in the North. The first march was in Leeds on November 12th 1977, organised by Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group in response to a police-imposed curfew on women during the Yorkshire Ripper murders.

1/3 of women in the UK are affected by gender-based violence. In Liverpool, 15% of serious sexual assault is reported, and only 21% of partner abuse incidents are reported (Liverpool City Council (2023), Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2023-2026, liverpool.gov.uk).

In the year ending April 2023, police received 6,732 reports of spiking. Almost 1,000 of these were needle spiking. The average age of spiking victims was 26 years, and 74% of victims were women (Spiking: factsheet – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).

Gender-based violence is intrinsically linked to other forms of violence and discrimination like racism, homophobia and transphobia. Domestic violence affects black women disproportionately and women of colour suffer higher rates of femicide. There is an increasing rate of hate crimes against queer women, non-binary people and trans people of any gender. This topic is important all year round, but autumn and winter can make it especially pressing – this is the time where we start to figure out the most well-lit route home after our lectures, or begin calling our friends on the walk back from work. We shouldn’t feel like the night isn’t for us. We should feel safe all year round and all hours.