According to recent research, you likely know someone who has been affected by sexual violence. The U.S. Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) reports that every two minutes a sexual assault is reported.
Take Back the Night is an internationally recognized event that is a visible stand against sexual violence, specifically violence against women. UTC’s third annual Take Back the Night event on October 7th will begin at 6pm at UTC’s Oak Street Amphitheater. The event is free and open to campus and community.
“We’re really excited about how this event has grown in the past three years. It’s an event that really brings our community together and helps start, or in some cases, continue this conversation to help create change on this campus. We want everyone to know what they can do to be involved. This isn’t just a women’s issue, it is a societal issue,” said Cassandra Nice, Assistant Director of the UTC Women’s Center. “We know that this kind of dialogue is happening on our campus and we want to be involved and we want to make our students aware of the resources and what we are doing to make our campus as safe a place as possible.”
Campus and community partners will be tabling throughout the evening, including the UTC Women’s Center, Partnership for Families, Children, and Adults, Second Life of Chattanooga, and Children’s Advocacy Center.
“We want people to be aware of resources within our community, but we also will have campus resources on hand as well,” Nice said.
The evening will open with a performance by local band, South Soul Dance. Guest speaker, Wagatwe Wanjuki, Feminist Activist and advocate for ending sexual and other power based violence, will then share her story of survival.
Wanjuki is an activist and writer who started blogging about feminism and the campus rape culture as a student at Tufts University. Since then, she has worked on progressive causes with various organizations including ColorOfChange, Free Press, and RH Reality Check. She is the founder of F— Yeah Feminists, one of the first and most popular feminist blogs on Tumblr. She is also a founding co-organizer of the Know Your IX campaign, which focuses on holding schools accountable to protect the civil right for an education free of sexual violence. Her story and commentary is featured in “The Hunting Ground” which will be screened on campus on Tuesday, October 13, followed by a panel including UTC Title IX Coordinator, Stephanie Rowland.
“The big thing is that we want people to come away understand opportunities where they can directly address rape culture. We want them to be proactive, and stand up, hoping that people won’t just be bystanders. If they overhear someone making a joke or comment about rape, we hope they explain why that is uncomfortable to them. When people see a situation that could easily go negative, we hope they’re intervening and sharing resources,” Nice said.
Following Wanjuki’s speech, a march through the Historic Fortwood District will commence to raise awareness about these issues in our community. Immediately following the march, a candlelight vigil to remember those who have fallen from violence will conclude the evening.
“This event is meant to empower survivors of power based violence, which includes stalking, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence,” Nice said. “It provides them with an atmosphere of empowerment, and encourages them, if they are still in the victim stage, to take steps to move from victim to survivor.”
In lieu of a candlelight vigil speaker, as UTC has featured in the past, the Women’s Center will collect anonymous survival stories, which will be read aloud during the vigil. For more information, check the anonymous submission form.
“We want to give different people a change for their voice, their story, to be heard, and to help other participants and survivors to move forward in the healing process,” Nice said.
Counselors will be on hand at the event, readily available and visible, in case content is triggering or if someone decides they need to talk to someone at that moment.
“This event is needed, not just on our campus, but on every campus and in every community. Approximately one in four college aged women will be the victim of sexual assault. It’s something we know is happening everywhere, and victims are often faced with victim blaming language, and they are discouraged from seeking help from an advocate or the authorities. We want to do everything we can to spread the message that what happened is not their fault and that there is help,” said Nice.
For more information about the event, check out the UTC Women’s Center website (http://www.utc.edu/womens-center/wcevents/tbtn.php).
Schedule of Events:
6:00pm – Performance by local band South Soul Dance, tabling by Campus & Community partners and sponsors
6:35pm – Welcome & Opening Remarks
6:45pm– Guest Speaker, Wagatwe Wanjuki
7:30pm – Walk through Fortwood District to take a stand against sexual assault and domestic violence
8:00pm – Candlelight vigil to honor victims and celebrate survivors
