Take Back the Night to protest violence against women

People will march and chant on campus streets tonight, advocating an end to violence against women.

But no men will be present during the march, and only women's voices will be heard.

Take Back the Night is an international event to raise awareness of rape and sexual violence against women and children and is held annually at Ohio State. It will take place at the Wexner Plaza near the intersection of 15th Avenue and High Street, beginning with a rally at 6 p.m. and a march at 9 p.m.

Although traditionally organized by and for women, more groups in cities and on campuses are allowing men to march and participate in the speak-out, where survivors of rape and sexual assault share their stories. However, Women and Allies Rising in Resistance (WARR), the OSU group sponsoring the event, insists these parts of the event remain women-only.

"It's an opportunity for a lot of women to speak out for the very first time," said Deborah Schipper, adviser for WARR and coordinator for Sexual Violence Education and Support at the Student Wellness Center. "Because they feel supported in talking about it."

There are male members in WARR and men are encouraged to come, but Schipper said the purpose of Take Back the Night is to provide a space for women to confront the issues that statistically, for the most part, affect them.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics report in 1999, 91 percent of the victims of rape were women, 9 percent were men and 99 percent of the offenders were men.

Lantern File Photo Roped off by several t-shirts with messages ranging from despair to anger, the Take Back the Night booth, located between the Wexner Center and Sullivant Hall, attempted to rally together women to fight rape and domestic violence on Friday night.

Despite a small percentage of men who experience rape, men are asked to participate in men's programming instead, where discussions take place on how men can help in the movement by being allies.

"It's a female space for female empowerment," said Charlie Fredrick, a junior in comparative studies who leads men's programming. "I don't believe that male rape survivors shouldn't speak out and shouldn't reclaim that space, but not within Take Back the Night. I think that that's a different movement."

Jimi Payne, a senior in art criticism who attended Take Back the Night last year, agreed.

"I really question the idea of separating people by gender ... but who's getting raped on college campuses?" he said. "It's women."

A study by the U.S. Department of Education found one out of six college women were raped or experienced on attempted rape in 1999. But according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 3 percent of college women report being raped in an academic year. Stephanie Diebold, who coordinates the event, attributes this fact to the problem.

"We can't stop rape if we're too scared to talk about it," the junior in political science said.

Diebold said another reason WARR hesitates to include men in the march is because a few years ago, one woman's perpetrator attended and marched behind her. Diebold said Take Back the Night is a support system where women must be ensured safety and a time to talk about their experiences.

"It's one bit of hope we can give to someone who has lived through something that traumatic," she said.

Informational tables will open at 5 p.m., featuring The Clothesline Project, an international group that showcases T-shirts honoring survivors and victims of sexual violence. Speakers and musical performances will take place during the rally. Then, the speak-out and men's programming will begin, followed by the march.

Michelle Mocnik can be reached at mocnik.1@osu.edu.