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The march is starting on the steps of Ipswich Town Hall from 7pm onwards and it'll pass through the town's red light district around Portman Road football ground.听 It follows the killings of the five women who worked as prostitutes in that area.

The march was planned before any arrests into the murders were made by Suffolk police.听 During the period before that the police advice was for women not to go out alone at night.

Rebecca Dale is one of the march organisers: "The main reason is that women have been told to stay in in both Suffolk and Essex.听 I don't feel that that makes people safe.

"As a thought experiment, if a man is out murdering women, why don't we say men stay in so that women can go out safely?听 That's a really incredible thing to say, but it sounds completely acceptable to tell all women to stay in when it's dark - and it's getting dark at half past three.

"I believe that the police were trying to do their best, but I believe they were wrong.听 It didn't make us feel any safer, it just made us feel more fear.

"As women, we are reclaiming the right to be wherever we want to be without feeling in danger."

The march has its roots in similar protests which took place in West Yorkshire during the investigation into the murders by the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe in the late 1970s and early 80s.

The organisers of the Ipswich march say it has other aims:

• to show support for the women who were murdered
• to press for proper counselling services for those who feel they have to sell their bodies to pay for drug addiction
• to point out that 1 in 4 women suffers violence from a partner and that it's completely unacceptable

The police have since stepped back from their original advice and are pointing us to their usual advice about personal safety when going out at night.听 This includes planning ahead, working out how to get home in advance, staying with friends and taking care of each other.听 The Stay Safe This Christmas advice is available on the Suffolk police website (link on the right>)