Dutch Women Revive ‘Witch Nights’ to Protest Street Harassment

Dolle Mina organizes “Witch Nights” this week in cities across the Netherlands, including The Hague, Assen, and Groningen. Women and men are walking through city centers with torches to draw attention to street harassment and the oppression of women. Colien Schaap of Dolle Mina notes women still learn to minimize themselves in response to male fragility.

The protests echo events from the 1970s, beginning with a “Take Back the Night” event in Philadelphia after a female scientist was murdered while walking home. Similar tribunals took place in Brussels in 1976, with 2000 women from forty countries sharing experiences of violence against women. The first Dutch “Witch Night” in 1978 drew over eight thousand women to the streets.

Organizers like Petra Brouwer in Groningen report young women still alter their routes to avoid dark areas, sometimes adding twenty minutes to their commutes. Though the current protests welcome men from the start—a change from the 1980s—the core goal remains. Dolle Mina envisions a matriarchal society built on care and compassion.