Take Back the Night held their annual rally and march Monday at to promote their zero tolerance of violence against women in the Culp Center Auditorium.
Since Take Back the Night has now become a yearly event, officials in charge are making a conscious effort to vary their focus from year-to-year.
“I think that the most important thing to happen this year is that there was a shift in focus from women to men and how they can prevent sexual violence,” said Kim Bushore-Maki, counselor and coordinator for the Outreach Program. The program stressed the concept of that in order to prevent sexual violence, one must stop it at its source.
“We want to urge men to make a conscious decision not to contribute to the rape culture,” said Bushore-Maki. One idea that was emphasized was that rape does not only effect women. It also effects men because it may be their mother, sister or girlfriend that could be a possible victim of sexual violence.
There were several speakers who spoke during the program. Some of the speakers spoke of their own survival stories while others read poetry or enacted a drama associated with sexual violence.
The theme for 2001 is “silence is the voice of complicity.” Many rape offenders have raped before, but they were not charged because the previous victims were too afraid to come forward with their stories.
“Until it is talked about, society won’t know that it is a problem,” said Kenzie Ownby. “It’s helpful for a victim to speak out because it starts the healing process.”
Take Back the Night was started in the 1970s in Europe. A group of protesting women were reacting against the belief that no woman could expect to be safe, particularly at night, unless she remained confined to her home. This very belief ignores the fact that most violence against women occurs in their own homes.
In addition to the United States and Europe, annual marches are held in Latin America, India and Canada. Take Back the Night acts as a collective voice that demands change and empowers both women and men to take action.

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