Thursday, April 27, was one of the nicer days University of Oregon has seen in 2023. But Fatima Roohi Pervaiz, the director of the UO Women’s Center, reminds us that sexual violence happens even when the sun is fully shining.
Take Back the Night is an annual event to raise awareness about sexual violence. The event has occurred on the last Thursday of Sexual Assault Awareness Month for the past 45 consecutive years. This year students basked in the sun by day and swarmed the streets by sunset to take back the night.
Danny Adzima, a sophomore women, gender, and sexuality studies student at UO, said this is their second year attending the march.
“I came last year and it was the defining experience of my freshman year,” Adzima said. “I think it is important that we as a community stand against sexual violence and stand for survivors because the main way sexual and domestic violence gets perpetrated is silence and not believing victims.”
Take Back the Night begins with an educational rally where speakers of varied demographics share their experiences and speak out against sexual violence. The Women’s Center holds strong values of intersectional feminism in that they aim to give voices to all types of women and feminized people. This year we saw speakers representing the Indigenous, Latinx, international and Black communities. The speakers also varied in sexual orientation and gender identity.
“Even people just walking past the EMU during the event can see the diversity of the speakers and hear the diversity of the topics,” Maggie Bertrand, the Sexual Violence Prevention and Educator Coordinator at the Women’s Center said. “The goal as you’re looking on that stage is to see someone that looks like you and hear something that sounds like something you’ve been through. We are trying our best to limit that possibility of someone feeling like they don’t belong.”
The dominant message of this event is sexual violence can happen to anyone by anyone, and each and every one of those experiences is valid and deserves to be heard and believed.
“A lot of women and feminized people tend to hide their voices — not because they don’t feel like it’s needed — but because they are scared and feel alone,” Danaya Lowe, a sophomore journalism student at UO said. “They feel their feelings and experiences are not valid.”
Lowe was one of the speakers at the rally and said the experience was both nerve-wracking and empowering.
“Being surrounded by the people who care for me and love me and will always be there for me made it all the more worthwhile,” Lowe said.
While the rally is labeled officially as an educational event, for many it is a chance to hear their experiences affirmed. In everyday conversation, confessions of experiences with sexual violence are often harmfully labeled as trauma dumping. Take Back the Night is a chance to tear down this stigma and open the conversation. Roxy Alexander, a senior philosophy student at UO, said that the rally section of the event made her feel less alone in her personal experience with sexual violence.
“When I was listening to the speakers I found there is strength in knowing other people have experienced this and knowing you can find peace and healing,” Alexander said.
As the rally concluded, students swarmed University Street with signs and megaphones chanting in unison, “People unite, take back the night.” The march, led by a police escort, zigzagged through the streets of Eugene and concluded on campus at the Knight Library’s south lawn. The marchers were loud and unapologetic. As they passed, people gathered on porches and balconies to cheer and join the chants.
“This huge display of solidarity will wake up those who don’t know what’s going on,” Alexander said. “I think the community that this is building and the feeling this is giving people is really important.”
The community building aspect of Take Back the Night is an essential resource for many people moving forward out of SAAM when conversations on sexual assault are more sparse. Take Back the Night is a chance to find support, feel solidarity and, most importantly, realize you are not alone.
“It’s a chance for not just survivors but supporters to get in contact with each other and realize there are people who understand what you are going through, and there are people who will love you even if you’ve never met them before,” Lowe said.
After the rally and march, Take Back the Night holds a speak out. This part of the event is closed to the press to ensure speaker confidentiality. It is a chance for survivors to share their stories with supporters and other survivors. It is an accepting space where community and support flourish.
