This event was jointly hosted by Rallying Against Sexual Assault (RASA) and the Office of Confidential Advocacy, Support and Education (CASE) in the Union Plaza.
Lexi Pelton, a graduate assistant pursuing a master’s in sport and recreation administration, who works alongside RASA, said the goal of the event was to raise awareness for the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses.
“We want to not only create a community for survivors but also create a community for people who are passionate about this issue,” Pelton said. “We’re trying to instill hope that people should be able to use their voice and create change within their community.”
“Take Back the Night” began in the 1970s in Belgium and remains the oldest worldwide movement against sexual violence. Over 36 countries and 800 communities across the globe hold “Take Back the Night” events annually, including UM.
This year’s event featured a free resource fair highlighting various offices and organizations on campus, as well as a speech by Bonny Shade — a speaker known for her discussions on sexual assault prevention. There was also free pizza and t-shirts.
Shade shared her experience of surviving a sexual assault at the hands of her best friend during her sophomore year of college.
“It was something I never thought would happen to me — and then it did. And my world was turned upside down,” Shade said.
Shade also spoke on some of the misconceptions she previously held surrounding sexual assault.
“I grew up being taught that this is something that we could prevent happening to us; that if I didn’t park in that dark parking deck, or go running alone at night, if I covered my drinks at the bar and if my friends went with me to the bathroom, then I would be safe,” Shade said.
Shade went on to explain that acquaintance-based assaults — assaults that occur between people who know each other — make up the highest percentage of sexually violent acts.
According to data from Rowan University, 80% of assaults involve acquaintances, and 84% of victims know their offenders.
“My brain didn’t want to let me believe that one in five college-aged women and about one in 16 college-aged men will be victim survivors of this thing,” Shade said. “I was now one in five. I didn’t know where to go with that information, so I kept it to myself. I buried it really deep down like the majority of the population. Around 90% of college students don’t report what happens to them. They live with the secret, just like I did.”
Among undergraduate and graduate students, 13% experience rape or sexual assault and 5.8% have experienced stalking since entering college, according to data from RAINN. Of female student victims ages 18-24, only 20% report to law enforcement, according to RAINN.
According to data from “Take Back the Night’s” website, one in three women and one in six men worldwide experience some form of sexual violence or intimate partner violence, two in three transgender people have been assaulted and people in the LGBTQ+ community are more likely to experience sexual violence. Less than 50% of victims report these crimes, according to “Take Back the Night.”
Shade now uses her experience to help others who have gone through similar experiences.
“Now, I travel around to colleges, to the same place where I got this part of my identity that I never wished upon myself,” Shade said. “I go and talk to college students and professionals about what this work means, about what we can actually do to prevent, intervene and respond to acts of sexual violence at every level, because that’s where change can happen.”
Following Shade’s speech, students marched around the Grove, chanting with signs bearing slogans against sexual violence. The event concluded with a glow stick vigil during which survivors were invited to share their stories, followed by a raffle featuring prizes from various Oxford businesses.
Freshman chemical engineering major Will Vernon shared his thoughts on the power of raising awareness through events such as “Take Back the Night.”
“Sexual assault is an epidemic in this country, and we need to address not only the symptoms of it but the root causes,” Vernon said. “Events like this help raise awareness, especially on campuses where there are higher rates than you see out in the general public. We need that increased awareness and that increased response to these problems and can hopefully try to fix not only the actual issue of sexual assault but the systemic issues that cause it.”
Addison Brawley, a freshman computer science major and member of RASA, also talked about the importance of awareness.
“I think it’s really important to bring awareness because a lot of people may not know a lot of information about these issues, and I think events like this do just that,” Brawley said.
Shelli Poole, the director of the CASE office, talked about the community aspects of the event.
“So many of our students have been impacted by interpersonal violence, and events like this provide community for them,” Poole said. “Many survivors have never shared their experience. Having a place for them to come and share their experience if they want to and break that silence is really meaningful in this work. We work to create a space that is validating, caring and respectful, regardless of where survivors are in their journey.”
The CASE office works to provide confidential advocacy to survivors, as well as education on interpersonal violence to the community.
“A lot of what we do is provide non-judgmental support,” Poole said. “Students will reach out, and they just want to have a conversation. A lot of times, people just don’t have the language for what has happened. They know that they’ve been impacted, but they’re not really sure what’s happened. It can be really confusing and overwhelming, so we listen.”
Poole encourages students to utilize the resources CASE provides.
“I think a lot of our students don’t know that we exist,” Poole said. “We used to be called VIP Survivor Support, but we really do want students to know that we’re a safe place for them to reach out if they think they may have experienced something like this.”
