For Tara Alder, Take Back the Night: March, Rally and Speak Out meant more than a march to raise awareness about the pervasiveness of sexual violence. It was a turning point away from an abusive relationship and toward personal freedom and safety.
“I wasn’t just afraid to speak in public,” Alder said, “I was afraid to speak at all. I had no voice. I arrived in Eugene pregnant after escaping my abusive boyfriend. After giving birth I had some reasonable support, but it wasn’t until the Take Back the Night march and speak out that I realized I wasn’t alone. Sharing my story
in front of all those people empowered me and validated that what I shared was worthwhile to others too.”
The annual Take Back the Night event, organized by the Women’s Center, took place Thursday in the EMU Amphitheater. As part of Sexual Assault Prevention Week, Take Back the Night “is an event to rally women together, support each other
and walk down the street without worrying or looking over
our shoulders in fear,” said
Jessie Genther, coordinator for
the event.
Speakers included Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, who discussed the importance of ending inequalities and discrimination to achieve a just society, and Women’s Center Director Erin O’Brien, who spoke about her personal experience with sexual violence and how it led her to take action using tools such as theater, writing and therapy.

“I helped to organize Take Back the Night for four years because, to me, Take Back the Night made it possible for me to even acknowledge this part of my world, this part of my history, that my body had blocked out for so long,” O’Brien said. “I spoke up and I spoke out.”
A demonstration by the Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team explained the importance of informed consent and demonstrated how to give and receive it. After the demonstration, representatives from Sexual Assault Support Services defined a “safe space” in both Spanish and English.
Using a bilingual presentation, SASS representatives gave a multi-dimensional definition of the idea of a safe space, which included receiving an excellent education to provide more opportunities in life; providing a place where people can make choices about their sexuality without living in fear of rejection, violence and intolerance; and valuing the diversity of animals, plants and humans of all types. Representatives explained how sexual violence particularly affects the Latino community and mentioned SASS’s resources for Spanish speakers.
Several speakers discussed how sexual violence affects a specific group of people. Women of color, lesbians, queers, gays, transgendered and gender-variant people all have experienced sexual violence but have not necessarily had access to assault survivor resources
that are sensitive to their identities and experiences, several event speakers said.
The Radical Cheerleaders led the crowd in chants such as, “I drank ale. I drank stout. That is not
consent.” Performers wore brightly colored costumes and amused the crowd with their renditions of popular cheers.
After the rally in the amphitheater, hundreds of people marched to the corner of East 8th Avenue and Oak Street. The march was divided into three sections: the first for self-identified women, the second for transgendered and gender-variant people and the third for allies.
“The march has a loyalty to women but recognizes women are not the only victims of sexual assault,” Genther said. “We want women to have a safe space where they can feel comfortable but make allies feel included.”