HandsAway: Fearless Night

The end of the curfew marks the return of problems related to public space at night. Who has never been afraid to go home alone at night and therefore deserted the public space, thus being denied their right to move freely in the streets? According to a study, in most extreme cases, 26% of women and gender minorities refuse to go out alone at night. (source ONDRP 2018). In order to highlight this problem and to allow women and gender minorities to reclaim public space, the not fot profit organisation, HandsAway, which fights against sexist and sexual violence, continues its combat by launching the operation Fearless Night. The concept? To use digital illuminated billboards already present in the public space, by displaying white screens whose luminosity has been boosted by 20%, in order to light up the darkest and most frightening streets of Paris from 9pm to 7am. HandsAway has already denounced rape culture and highlighted the structural mechanisms of domination with the "Bunch of Dicks" film, as well as the weight of sexist comments and insults on victims with its operation "The Weight of Words", or educated about consent with its latest print campaign "This is not consent". This time, the association has decided to bring a positive but more than essential message of reappropriation of public space: the operation allows to re-launch the debate on the necessity for each and everyone to enjoy their freedom to circulate serenely in the street, whatever the time or place.