TWO female councillors are leading a new safety campaign which aims to 'reclaim' the streets of Inverclyde.

Lynne Quinn, Inverclyde designated women's champion, and fellow elected member Francesca Brennan are taking part in a 'Glow Up' Walk highlighting women's right to feel safe.

The event takes place outside the Beacon Arts Centre tomorrow night (TUES) and it aims to promote equal rights for girls and women to take part in activities at night without fearing for their personal safety while outdoors.

The evening will start with a walk along the waterfront in Greenock followed by a self-defence demonstration delivered by Oana Stan from Wing Tsjun Scotland.

Councillor Brennan said: "We hope that the walk will have a warm, friendly atmosphere where women and girls can spend some time together outdoors at night free from fear.

"The walk is a way to physically emphasise that women should always feel able to confidently go out at night."

The walk is taking place during the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign which seeks to eliminate violence against women and girls.

Cllr Brennan said: "As well as being a chance for women to have fun exercising and chatting together, it’s also an opportunity for people to acknowledge the ongoing scandal of violence against women and girls.

"We know that most men want violence and abuse of women to stop but we all need to develop our confidence in speaking up and calling out violence when and where we see it."

Cllr Quinn said the idea for the walk came from comments made inthe Women’s Safety Survey carried out by the council last year.

It exposed shocking levels of harassment and found that, like many areas within Scotland, women living here felt unsafe out walking at night when it is dark.

Mrs Quinn said: "We hope this event will be a start to encourage and support women to feel equally safe and be able to keep active regardless of the time of day.

"We are delighted that Oana can join us on the evening to share her skills - her classes in Glasgow have had a huge impact on empowering women to be more active and healthy.

"I hope this will be the start of regular self-defence classes here in Inverclyde’.

The organisers would also also like to thank Erin Power at Your Voice and The Beacon for their support with this event

The event is free and all women and girls are welcome.

Walkers should meet at 6pm outside the Beacon and under-14s must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information email francescabrennan@yahoo.co.uk