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Illuminating the issue

Take Back the Night event raises awareness about sexual violence

April 19, 2011

Take Back the Night, an annual, day-long event was held yesterday across campus. Attendees had the opportunity to take part in various activities that worked to educate about and end sexual and domestic violence. One such activity was The Clothesline Project. This project asked survivors and allies to decorate T-shirts on which they share their stories of sexual violence. Beginning at 10 a.m. in the Union, these T-shirts were on display. Social work junior Hayli Szczechowski, psychology and mathematics junior Kari Edington and education junior Amy Dunn talked about The Clothesline Project and the effect such a display had on its viewers.

Photo by Marina Csomor | The State News

There are many rape myths Megan Spencer and Cortney Bouse want to dispel.

There’s the idea that men cannot be raped; that if a person is drinking alcohol, he or she is asking for assault; that if a woman is dressed a certain way, she’s inviting abuse.

The list goes on.

In an effort to eradicate these fallacies, Spencer, a Residential College in the Arts and Humanities and women’s and gender studies senior, and Bouse, an interdisciplinary studies in social science and health studies senior, volunteered to organize Take Back the Night, an annual, day-long event that works to educate and end sexual and domestic abuse.

The event, which took place Tuesday, consisted of workshops, discussions, a performance and a march. Throughout the day, survivors of sexual assault and their allies were able to participate in these activities across campus.

Take Back the Night is an international event that has taken place in various cities each year since the 1970s.

This year marks the 33rd year for the event at MSU. Spencer, Bouse and others are continuing the cause.

A day of awareness

Throughout the event, attendees were encouraged to speak up about their experiences with sexual assault. Beginning at 11 a.m., they attended various workshops covering topics such as consent, how communities are impacted by sexual violence and how to support those affected by sexual assault.

Education junior Amy Dunn is a sexual violence survivor who attended Take Back the Night. Dunn said it means so much to see community members gathered together at an event such as this because of her past.

“I spend so much time thinking, ‘Well, no one cares — no one wants to hear,’” she said. “And then I come to this, and it just lifts my heart to know that there are people who care. It’s an amazing opportunity for other people to not feel so alone.”

LBGT and Women of Color safe space discussions also took place during the day. Communicative sciences and disorders senior Frances Boncelaar said discussions are important because the issue of sexual assault is often either misunderstood or ignored.

“I think it’s pretty evident that there’s a lot of victim blaming going on, and I don’t think it’s discussed obviously in the correct light,” she said.

Spencer said Take Back the Night is an event for more than just women. Men were welcome at many of the day’s events, and a Men’s Forum was held where men had the chance to speak about the acts of sexual violence they’ve experienced, she said.

Spoken word poet Tara Hardy also performed. Hardy, a Michigan native and current resident of Seattle, creates works that focus on issues of sexual and domestic violence and on LGBT and women’s issues, Spencer said.

Hardy led attendees in SpeakOut!, an activity during which survivors and allies were able to tell stories of their experiences with sexual assault.

Psychology and professional writing junior Ariel Simon said SpeakOut! is her favorite part of the day because it’s so powerful.

“For a lot of (survivors), it’s the first time that they’ve talked about their experiences, and I feel like it can be a very cleansing kind of cathartic feeling for them,” she said. “Especially to symbolically bring it out in front of everybody and show that they’re not ashamed of their pain and they’re not afraid to say, ‘This is what happened to me, but this isn’t who I am.’”

Still here

Some seem to think sexual and domestic abuse is a problem of the past, Bouse said.

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“Women aren’t told as much that they can’t work outside the home or (that) they’re stupid,” she said. “I mean, it still happens, but it happens in more subtle ways, which makes it more difficult (to combat).”

To make this issue more apparent, Spencer said she and Bouse worked to create an event that was visually stimulating.

“We need to make it so that supporting sexual assault survivors is a more visual thing, and I think this event does a really great job of demonstrating (that),” Spencer said. “We’re here, and we’re not going to be silent. We’re not going to experience this violence and not do anything about it.”

Attendees of the event gathered at 7:15 p.m. in the Union for a rally followed by a march through East Lansing. The march ended at the 54-B District Court, symbolizing the location where justice for victims of sexual assault will be served, Bouse said.

Spencer said it’s important to stage such a demonstration and get people’s attention.
“It’s a lot of women marching through campus and down Grand River (Avenue) shouting these really strong and empowering things,” she said. “I think it really makes people sort of step back and go, ‘Wow, this is really important.’”

On campus

The issues involved with Take Back the Night particularly should resonate with students on MSU’s campus, Spencer said. She said she believes the general attitude about rape needs to change.
Hospitality business freshman Lizzy Braxton agreed sexual violence still is in today’s culture, but she does not see sexual violence being an issue on MSU’s campus.

“(My friends and I) don’t see it. We don’t notice it. We don’t know anyone who has been sexually assaulted here,” Braxton said. “We don’t see it as a big deal.”

Microbiology sophomore Patrick Ropp also hasn’t seen the effects of sexual violence.

“I’m a sophomore, and I haven’t really encountered any sexual violence (or) sexual abuse since I’ve been here,” he said. “I’m sure it has potential, but I haven’t run into it yet.”

Resources such as safe houses are available on campus to combat this problem’s potential growth, Ropp said. MSU Safe Place provides shelter to those in on-going relationships who are experiencing abuse and need a safe and confidential place to stay.

There also are programs that provide counseling and support groups for those that have been impacted by or have survived sexual assault.

Earlier this year, Braxton said she took part in one such campus program, the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Preventative Program, during which she learned statistics about sexual violence and where the resources on campus for sexual assault victims and their allies could go for assistance. Braxton said she learned there are campus therapists available to student victims wishing to talk about their experiences.

“They make it really clear where you can go and get help,” she said. “MSU is really good with providing resources for students who have experienced sexual assault.”

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