Women were reportedly assaulted and abused by several men as they took part in a Reclaim These Streets march.

Hundreds of people joined the event in Canterbury to protest against violence against women, and bring awareness to the rising concerns surrounding drink spiking.

But Canterbury Christ Church University's Students' Union has revealed that while there was a great deal of support for the event on Thursday evening, there were also incidents "which showed why these protests are still needed".

One intoxicated man "tried to touch a clearly uncomfortable young woman while she was *literally* on a march about women's safety and consent", according to a post on the union's Twitter page.

The man then allegedly "asked why there were no stats being read out about violence against men".

Other people who tried to disrupt the event included "men who yelled and laughed during a two-minute silence for the women who have died as a result of male violence" and "men who threw toilet paper at a group of people for daring to care about violence against women, whilst a pair of schoolgirls were recounting their experiences of sexual assault".

A group of men are also said to have thrown an egg at protestors.

Protestors gathered in Canterbury on Thursday for a Reclaim These Streets march

The students' union branded the incidents "a terrible indictment on society, where incidents like these happen on a daily basis to women in public where they should feel safe".

"These acts are never OK: they are assault, sexual assault and sexual harassment and are no way anyone should be treated in society," they continued.

"We all need to call it out, report it, keep raising awareness, and keep protesting to ensure the inequality isn't forgotten about or dismissed."

Reclaim These Streets is a national movement campaigning to make the streets safer for women.

Thursday's event in Canterbury was organised by students including Meg Payne, Rhian Shillabeer and Harry McKenzie.

The march set off from the Marlowe Theatre at 6.30pm, before processing onto the high street, through the Dane John Gardens, along Burgate, and ending with a two-minute silence outside the Cathedral gates.

Speeches were made by guest speakers, including Samantha Griffin, the cousin of PCSO Julia James, who was killed while out walking her dog in a hamlet near Canterbury in April.

Rhian Shillabeer, of Reclaim These Streets, said: "We're here to stand up for women and girls who have been victimised, and have experienced harassment and felt unsafe."

Fellow organiser Meg Payne added: "A lot of the problem stems from attitudes about lower level harassment - so cat-calling, wolf-whistling.

"It's something I've experienced on the street, in clubs. You feel like you can't stand up for yourself because you don't know what's going to happen to you.

"We should be able to stand up for ourselves - make people know that that's not right."

Kent County Councillor Alister Brady, who joined the march, added: "As a male, I think it's incredibly important that we understand that we are part of the problem.

"We can be a solution. We can call out misogynistic behaviour.

"It's really important that males come on these marches, to shine a light on the fact that women aren't safe on our streets. We're in the third decade of the 21st century, and that's unacceptable."

The event came after nightclubs and bars across the county were boycotted following a spate of reports of drink spiking, with campaigners saying there is a "lack of concern being show by local clubs and the government" about a recent increase in incidents.

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