Hundreds of determined women demanded an end to gender-based violence on Wednesday night, marching along Southend High Street.

Echo: Women and girls of all ages turned out to show their support for the global cause.Women and girls of all ages turned out to show their support for the global cause. (Image: Gaz De Vere)

Armed with placards calling for unity and for sexual abuse to be stamped out worldwide, the women-only Reclaim the Night march supported the United Nations Women's 16 Days of Activism, which ends on December 10. 

Echo: Demonstrators carried placards which urged an end to 'rape culture'.

The crowd chanted: “Women. Unite. Reclaim the night!”

Echo: There were passionate chants of 'Whose streets? Our streets'. There were passionate chants of 'Whose streets? Our streets'. (Image: Gaz de Vere)

Helen Boyd, Conservative councillor for Blenheim Park said: “It’s very regrettable that this is still necessary in the twenty-first century, but Southend is doing quite a lot to ensure women and girls are protected."

Mrs Boyd explained the importance of the show of solidarity during the march:

Charities such as Southend-On-Sea (SOS) Rape Crisis, Aspirations, Brook sexual advice centre, Better Start Southend and Trust Links attended the march, also encouraging men to make a stand against violence and sexual abuse towards women and girls everywhere.

Echo: Ronnie Rattner, 55, of Maplin Way, Thorpe Bay, and Win O'Sullivan, 55, of Kensington Road, Southend, were keen to show solidarity with women worldwide.Ronnie Rattner, 55, of Maplin Way, Thorpe Bay, and Win O'Sullivan, 55, of Kensington Road, Southend, were keen to show solidarity with women worldwide. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

Alison Smith MBE, 70, of Salisbury Avenue, Westcliff, and her friend Ros Dunhill, 73, from Hadleigh, organised a similar march in the mid-1980s. They are on the board of trustees at SOS Rape Crisis, a charity which provides confidential specialist support for survivors of rape and other forms of sexual abuse.

Southend High Street has had Purple Flag status for 10 years, a community safety initiative aimed at “raising the standards of the town centre between the hours of 5am and 5pm”.

The council is also working towards its Domestic Abuse Housing Accreditation, so frontline housing staff can identify the signs of possible domestic violence situations and discreetly signpost residents to help.