Members of the Columbus and Ohio State community will come together tomorrow for Take Back the Night, an annual rally, march, vigil and 30-year tradition at OSU that protests violence against women.
This event will feature live music, information tables for women organizations and activists, as well as speeches from Paulette Pierce, Deborah Shipper and Sarah Mahr.
"I want to talk about more than just don't walk at night; I want them to know what real prevention looks like," said Shipper, coordinator of the Rape Education and Prevention Program at OSU. "Most of the time we're not attacked at night; we're attacked in homes of people we know, or our own."
Pierce, associate professor of African-American and African studies, will focus on the historical context of sexual violence in the black community.
"Black women have been rather silent about rape because racists historically have portrayed blacks as highly sexualized beasts and justified the lynching of black men as necessary to protect white civilization and womanhood," Pierce said.
She will also discuss the ripple effect sexual violence has on the prison system, as well as the black community.
"I am deeply concerned about the one million black men incarcerated in America's prison system, many of whom are returning to our communities infected with AIDS as a consequence of brutal rapes," Pierce said. "Americans must recognize that rape is never as sexy as Hollywood would have us believe."
Pierce also said blacks can no longer afford to be silent about the issue of rape because it is a growing problem in America.
"I want people to know that the issue of rape does not have to put women against men or blacks against whites," Pierce said. "Rape is a pathological expression of a patriarchal conception of power, and it cuts across racial, gender and class lines as well as sexual orientation."
There will also be a self defense demonstration by OSU Women's Self Defense and Martial Arts Club.
"According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, one in four women are assaulted every day," said Libby Bruce, former president of Feminist Students United. "Twenty-five percent is a big number. Instead of telling women to go inside and don't come out at night, we need to encourage them to learn to empower themselves and learn to resist violence and learn self-defense."
This event was organized by Feminist Students United, formerly known as the Association of Women Students, the oldest registered student organization on campus. This organization works to improve the status of women at OSU by encouraging them to identify, develop and use their individual potentials through experience, leadership, referrals and programming like Take Back the Night that supports women's causes.
Take Back the Night occurred in the United States for the first time in 1978 in San Francisco, Calif. It originated in Germany in 1973 as a response to a series of sexual assaults, rapes and murders. Today, marches are held all over the United States.
"It was started because violence against women is a gender issue. Even back in the '70s, women were making their voices heard," said Jenni Lawson, chair of Feminist Students United. "(Violence against women is) definitely still an issue, so there's still a need for events like Take Back the Night."
Lawson, a senior in women's studies, is also a member of the OSU Radical Cheerleaders, members of Feminist Students United that protest at various events to encourage the empowerment of women.
From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. there will be artists, as well as live music by Connie Gudal Newton, and disc jockey Shawn Ireland will bring his talent to the event.
Also during this time, women organizations and activists will be on hand with information. A few of the organizations that will be attending include VOX, a planned parenthood group, the Ohio Coalition on Sexual Assault and the Committee for Justice in Palestine.
The march begins at 9 p.m. at Sullivant Hall and will proceed through campus. Before returning to Sullivant Hall, the march will makes its way down High Street and through the east residential area.
At 10 p.m., survivors of sexual violence will speak about their experiences. There will also be a name-burning ceremony during the speak-out vigil for rape survivors.
Although the march is for women only, everyone is welcome to attend the vigil.
"The march is historically and traditionally for women only," Lawson said. "We also ask that only women survivors speak out, but everyone is welcome to the other parts (of the event)."
Members of Feminist Students United hope this will not discourage men from attending the event.
"Men are a part of the problem and solution," Shipper said. "Women will never stop rape completely alone. Men need to start interrupting the behavior of other men."
Bruce said violence against women should be just as important to men as it is to women.
"If a man has a sister, mother, daughter or a female friend, violence against women is his issue," Bruce said. "We need their help to make violence against women a thing of the past."
Bruce, a junior in English and women's studies, also said even though violence against women seemed to be on the wane, it still exists.
The goal of Take Back the Night is to empower women to resist violence in their homes, communities and around the world. The event makes a statement against sexual assault, domestic violence, emotional abuse, date rape and violence against women.
"Domination and humiliation of the victim is the goal, whether the attack occurs in the prisons in Iraq, Marysville, Ohio, a dark alley in the University District or a posh bedroom in Upper Arlington," Pierce said. "The right to live in an environment free of rape must be respected as a basic human right."
Shipper encourages all OSU students and members of the community to attend because of what Take Back the Night stands for and will hopefully encourage.
"Take Back the Night is about taking back our lives, not allowing society to put boundaries on our behavior," Shipper said. "A lot of the time, victims are blamed for behavior that caused the attack. But rape happens because there's a rapist out there, not because of what someone has on."
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