Reclaim These Streets (RTS) is a

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

organisation movement in the UK. The organization has the motto: ''We aim to use legislation, education and community action to ensure no woman has to be asked to “Text Me When You Get Home” again.'' It exists as a hashtag #ReclaimTheseStreets. RTS raises funds for ROSA a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

charity in the UK that is named for three human rights champions

Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg (; ; pl, Róża Luksemburg or ; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary socialist, Marxist philosopher and anti-war activist. Successively, she was a member of the Proletariat party, ...

Rosa May Billinghurst Rosa May Billinghurst (31 May 1875 – 29 July 1953) was a British suffragette and women's rights activist. She was known popularly as the "cripple suffragette" as she campaigned in a tricycle. Early life She was born in 1875 in Lewisham, Londo ...

, and

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...

. As well as speaking out about feminist topics, RTS speaks out about

policing The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

issues, internet

harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...

, neighbourhood safety, and the

right to protest The right to protest may be a manifestation of the right to freedom of assembly, the right to freedom of association, and the right to freedom of speech. Additionally, protest and restrictions on protest have lasted as long as governments have. ...

in the street. Jessica Leigh, Anna Birley, Henna Shah and Jamie Klingler of Reclaim These Streets took legal action against the

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

, claiming that their human rights to freedom of speech and assembly had been breached in connection with their attempt to organise a

vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...

Clapham Common Clapham Common is a large triangular urban park in Clapham, south London, England. Originally common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, it was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878. It is of gr ...

, London, for the murdered Sarah Everard. RTS had attempted to organise a vigil and informed the police. RTS were told they would be liable to be issued with a

fixed penalty notice In the United Kingdom, a fixed penalty notice (FPN) is a notice giving an individual the opportunity to be made immune from prosecution for an alleged criminal offence in exchange for a fee. Fixed penalty notices were introduced in Britain in the ...

by the

if the protest went ahead. Though the vigil was cancelled by RTS, many members of the public went to Clapham Common to pay their respects to Sarah Everard. Attendees included

Catherine, Princess of Wales Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

. RTS sought a

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...

of the decision-making by the Metropolitan Police. The case was heard in January 2022, and a judgment delivered on 11 March 2022 said that the Met's decisions in the run-up to the event were “not in accordance with the law”. The Met were found to have ignored their duty to inform themselves of the considerations relevant to decision-making, their "Tameside duty". The Met said it would appeal the judgment. In April 2022, the High Court refused to grant the Met permission to appeal. In April 2022, the Met applied to the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

for permission to appeal against the judgment of the High Court. The Court of Appeal declined permission. In 2021, RTS co-founder Jamie Klingler campaigned to "close loopholes" that led to an account impersonating her on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

not being investigated by police. It has 40,000 followers on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

as of April 2022.

References

{{reflist Sexual harassment in the United Kingdom Social justice organizations