Amsterdam city joins nightlife's stand on safer streets for women

Amsterdam Central Station, the city hall in Amsterdam, and the province of Noord-Holland will participate in the campaign to raise awareness of violence against women and girls during the evening hours of Tuesday leading into Wednesday. The initiative follows the death of 17-year-old Lisa from Abcoude, who was killed in a severely violent attack last week during the early hours on Wednesday.

Between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m., the station in the capital will be illuminated in orange, and the light beam on the city hall’s roof will turn orange. The text “Ik eis de nacht op” (“I claim the night”) will also be projected on the Zwanenburgwal side. The provincial government building in Haarlem will also be lit in orange on Tuesday evening.

In Amsterdam, the facades of various clubs and bars will be lit with orange messages from a column by writer Nienke 's Gravemade. The A’DAM Tower will also be illuminated in orange. The United Nations use the color orange as a symbol of a future free from violence against women.

Several cultural institutions in Amsterdam are also joining the campaign, including The Stopera, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Museum, and Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder are also taking part. In addition, the bicycle tunnel under the Rijksmuseum will also be lit up in orange.

The initiative for the campaign in Amsterdam’s nightlife comes from night mayor Freek Wallagh and the Amsterdam Clubs Council (OAC). They aim to send a strong message against femicide and sexual violence. “Every eight days, a woman is murdered in the Netherlands,” the organizers emphasize. According to them, structural change is needed to make women feel safe in the city and in the nightlife.

A crowdfunding campaign has also been launched for the initiative “Wij eisen de nacht op” (“We claim the night”). It has already raised over 470,000 euros. Initiator Danique de Jong wants to use it to draw attention to women’s safety on the streets.

Since Sunday, the message has been displayed on digital screens at stations and in several cities, and people can also order posters and stickers themselves.