Kettering rally for women's safety to march through town and reclaim the streets

Kettering residents will march through the town on Saturday (December 4) to highlight the issue of violence against women.

The march has been organised in response to the murder of Maddie Durdant-Hollamby, who was stabbed to death by her boyfriend Ben Green in August, and the death of Marta Chmielecka, who died after being stabbed in the neck in October.

At the end of October a 20-year-old woman also was spiked by an injection at a Kettering nightclub in the town, resulting in her being rushed to A&E for medical treatment.

March co-organiser, Liane Robinson, said: “Imagine if everyone in Kettering who finds violence against women and girls abhorrent and unnatural were to come out for just two hours on Saturday - what a message that would send to those who think they have an excuse.

"There are no ifs, buts, or maybes - it is a big fat no. Violence against women is never okay, never a part of life. Never understandable.”

Marchers will be joined by Corby campaigners who organised a night-time women's march in April this year for the national campaign #ReclaimTheNight.

The march will assemble at the Rockingham Road Pleasure Park at 10am on Saturday, December 4, and make its way to Kettering town centre to gather in Horsemarket. Click here for the event link on Facebook. Cllr Emily Fedorowycz, who helped organise the event, said: “This event is not just for women, it is for everyone who wants to see a society where women can feel safe.

"We all need to come together to demand the behaviour we want to see. We can’t let these incidents become just another headline that we become desensitised to over time - we have to act, and we have to do it now.”

A total of 64 male offenders were convicted or sentenced in Northamptonshire courts during September for violent or sexual crimes against female victims - their crimes range from spitting in the face of a female police officer to attempted murder.

The office of the police, fire and crime commissioner announced earlier this month that there had been a successful bid for £300,000 in funding to help tackle violence against women and girls Plans are set to include training and awareness for staff in licensed premises so that they can spot unacceptable behaviour and customers who are more vulnerable, and other measures to provide support to people who find themselves in difficulty during a night out.

Northamptonshire Police has also teamed up with StreetSafe providing an online reporting system where 'unsafe' areas can be reported including the lack of street lighting or abandoned buildings, as well as behaviours such as being followed or verbally abused.

To report feeling unsafe in Northamptonshire via the platform click here: https://www.northants.police.uk/notices/street-safe/street-safe/The group is organising a banner-making workshop at the William Knibb Centre on Thursday, December 2, from 5pm to 7pm to which everyone is welcome.

People wishing to attend the workshop can RSVP via the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/215685833930228- Pawel Chmielecki has been charged over the death of 31-year-old Marta, who was discovered by detectives in a house in Wood Street.

- The body of Ben Green was found next to Maddie's at his house in Slate Drive. Police believe he turned the knife on himself after killing Maddie.