Take Back the Night events seek to educate men and women about, and unite against, sexual assault

Take Back the Night events seek to educate men and women about, and unite against, sexual assaultApril 05, 2006Matthew R. Snydermrsnyder@syr.edu

The Syracuse University R.A.P.E. (Rape, Advocacy, Prevention & Education) Center is hosting a series of workshops, speakers and gatherings for Take Back the Night. The events began Thursday, March 30, and conclude with the Take Back the Night march, rally and speak-out Wednesday, April 19, at 7 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. Traditionally a weeklong series of events, Take Back the Night has been expanded this year due to student interest.

Statistics show that one in four college-age women will experience a sexual assault by the time they have completed college. The goal of Take Back the Night and associated events is not only to educate women and men on the SU campus about the prevalence of sexual assault, but also to join together and publicly take a stand to signify that the violence must end, and that participants intend for that end to come at Take Back the Night 2006.

The organizers’ hope that Take Back the Night will help create an atmosphere of zero tolerance of violence against women by:

• increasing community awareness of issues of violence against women, and its interrelationship with all other forms of discrimination;
• educating people about the extent and the nature of the violence that is systematically used against women to keep them from becoming powerful, autonomous individuals;
• honoring the memory of the victims of violence and celebrating survivors;
• serving as a collective voice for women to demand a world in which their bodies, minds and souls are not targets of violence;
• empowering individual men and women to take direct action against violence, whether it be through speaking out, lobbying, voting or other forms of activism; and
• providing the leadership to challenge organizations and institutions to implement policies and initiatives that are effective in addressing issues of violence against women

The Take Back the Night rally, scheduled for April 19 at 7 p.m., will be followed by the Take Back the Night march, beginning at Hendricks Chapel at 7:15 p.m., and the speak-out at 8 p.m. The rally and march are all open to the public; however, media attendance will not be permitted at the speak-out because of the sensitive nature of the subject matter to be discussed.

The schedule of upcoming events is:

• Through April 9: White Ribbon Campaign, sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs; ribbons/pins/wristbands available for sale at the Hildegarde and H. Myer Schine Student Center
• April 4: Sexual Social Norms T-Shirt campaign, sponsored by AMI; 10 a.m.-4 p.m., table in the Schine Student Center
• April 7: Clothesline Project T-shirt making workshop, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., NOT OPEN TO MEDIA
• April 8-9: EMPOWER! Self-defense workshop for women, all day; contact Melissa Kleinman at mjkleinm@syr.edu for more information
• April 11: Clothesline Project T-shirt-making workshop, 6 p.m.-8 p.m, NOT OPEN TO MEDIA
• April 17-18: Take Back the Night Sign-Making Parties, 7-9 p.m, Hendricks Chapel Atrium
• April 17: Hands Against Violence, 6-8:30 p.m., Goldstein Student Center
• April 17-19: Hands Against Violence, 10 a.m.-3pm, Schine Student Center
• April 17: Sexual Social Norms T-shirt Campaign, sponsored by AMI, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., table in Schine Student Center
• April 18: Got Consent? T-Shirt Campaign, sponsored by the Office of Judicial Affairs, University Judicial Board/Peer Education Team
• April 19: Take Back the Night March and Rally, 7p.m., Hendricks Chapel
• April 19: Take Back the Night Speak-out, 8 p.m., Hendricks Chapel, NOT OPEN TO MEDIA
• April 26: Day of Silence, sponsored by the LGBT Resource Center

For more information about any of the Take Back the Night events, contact Janet Epstein, associate director of the Syracuse University R.A.P.E. Center, at 443-7098 or via email atepsteinj@syr.edu.