The sixth annual Take Back the Night 5k Race was held on the morning of Saturday, March 27. Even though the temperature was below freezing, hundreds of racers of all ages assembled in front of Gilbreath Hall to walk or run in honor of the victims of rape and assault.
“It’s really early but I’m excited to be here to support Take Back the Night,” said freshmen, Lauren Hackler.
Senior Ashley Fee said that this was the second year that she had attended the Take Back the Night 5k race. “Getting help for those who have been abused” is a very important cause, said Fee.
The first Take Back the Night march occurred in 1976 at The International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women in Belgium. Two thousand women from 40 countries wanted to shed light on the injustice of sexual assault. The women decided to gather together to hold a candlelight procession through the streets of Brussels.
At ETSU, Take Back the Night wanted to raise an awareness of sexual assault and raise money to combat it. All proceeds from the event held on Saturday will be used to support the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (S.A.N.E.) program at the Johnson City Medical Center. These nurses privately treat and advocate for victims of sexual assault so they are not re-victimized by the police or the media.
Freshmen Anna Finchum, 18, learned about the S.A.N.E. nurse program in her Women’s Studies class at ETSU. She said that the Take Back the Night 5k race “is an awesome opportunity to support the program. A rape victim is able to get immediate care from a S.A.N.E. nurse because there is always one on call at the hospital.”
Through raising awareness for sexual assault and the S.A.N.E. nurse program, Take Back the Night is working toward their official motto “Shatter the silence. Stop the violence.”
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