Take Back the Night is a worldwide event to raise awareness and to show support for the survivors and victims of sexual assault.
The Health AWAREness program will host the 19th annual Take Back the Night march 8 p.m. Wednesday.
The candle-lit march will begin in the Putt/Delaney courtyard and go up Eleventh Street and through the Oak Grove toward the library and Fisher Auditorium. From Fisher, marchers will exit between Leonard and Walsh halls, go around Northern Suites, walk down Pratt Drive and finish in the Memorial Field House.
"After the march we have a survivor speak-out," said Alisia Drew (senior, child and family studies), an event coordinator. "Speakers come to talk about the topic and students share their personal stories of being survivors."
More than 600 students, faculty, staff and Indiana community members marched to "Take Back the Night" in 2010. Anyone who received a free T-shirt last year is encouraged to wear it this year to show support.
"Statistically, everyone is likely to encounter someone who has experienced sexual assault in their life," said Drew.
One in four women has experienced sexual assault. One in six boys is sexually assaulted before the age of 18 and one in four girls is sexually assaulted before the age of 18.
The first documented Take Back the Night event in the United States took place in Philadelphia in October 1975, according to TakeBacktheNight.org.
"Citizens of Philadelphia rallied together after the murder of young microbiologist, Susan Alexander Speeth, who was stabbed by a stranger a block from her home while walking alone," according to the website.
Girls are told to be in by dark all throughout their childhood. Those girls grow up to become women who are still fearful of the dark and who are told to take extra care when out at night.
Women are told to never walk home alone. They are told to carry their keys between their fingers to use as a weapon if necessary. Some women buy mace that dangles from a keychain as a precaution.
"These women basically said ‘enough is enough,'" said Rhema Lewis (senior, natural sciences). "‘My life shouldn't stop when the sun goes down.' And that's how Take Back the Night got started."
Take Back the Night, at IUP and worldwide, is a movement for freedom to walk the night without fear.
More information about Take Back the Night can be found at takebackthenight.org.
More information about sexual assault, support hotlines and helping victims can be found at rainn.org.
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