Take Back The Night Continues at UCSC

By Samantha Alsina on April 28, 2016

Take Back the Night, a yearly march and rally for sexual assault survivors resumes for another year at UCSC. Founded back in the 60’s, Take Back the Night quickly became an international expression of breaking the silence around rape and rape culture.

 In midst of notorious celebrity rape cases and college campus consent campaigns, the march and rally is a different approach to countering rape culture. It is focused on the process of healing and supporting those who have experienced traumatic events. Survivors and allies alike can make their voices heard in a safe supportive environment like this one. It’s an event that is meant to empower people as survivors, not merely victims.

Take Back the Night is important even now because it is an opportunity for some to share their experiences with others. The event begins with a march around campus starting from the Quarry Plaza and ending at Oakes College.

A small dozen or two of volunteers, students, and allies gathered and marched chanting, “Shatter the Silence! Stop the Violence!” as well as “Take back my life! Take Back the Night!” Many of the students took turns leading the chants while onlookers honked their car horns in support. Besides the occasional male troll, the march was overall peaceful and effective.

 Following the march, a communal speak out was planned. Taking place in the Oakes Learning Center, many campus or community resources tabled at the event. This year’s keynote speaker, Mia Mingus, is a writer, a community educator, and an organizer who works heavily on disability justice and children’s sexual abuse. Identifying as a transracial and transnational Korean, Mingus’ work is central to this Sexual Assault Awareness month.

Despite that it’s been more than 3 decades since the original Take Back the Night, sexual assault is still a very real issue. According to statistics compiled by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in five women and one in sixteen men are sexually assaulted while in college. Within the past few years alone, The Department of Education Office of Civil Rights has conducted their own investigations into dozens of universities (including UCSC) across the nation on the handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints. The entire list of universities being investigated can be found here.

Knowing how to support oneself or a friend or a relative who has experienced sexual violence or assault of any kind is vital to healing. Healing looks different for everybody and there is not one way to react to a traumatic event.

 Originally shared by the UC Santa Cruz’s CARE (Campus Advocacy Resources & Education), the following guidelines should be useful if you or someone is ever caught in a similar circumstance:

 

  1. Practice active listening. This means that when someone opens up to you, pay full attention to them. Don’t look at your phone or multi-task. Listening without imposing judgement is crucial. Don’t expect to understand what they’re feeling or have experienced. Don’t interrupt. The important part is giving them the support and attention they need.
  2. Respect their privacy. Ask if they feel safe, if  they want to know their options or steps in going forward, and let them know that you believe them. Don’t minimize or make excuses for the attacker; that may re-traumatize your friend which is more of a hindrance to healing. As much as it may tempting, do not confront the attacker either.
  3. Use the same language as your friend. In other words, if they’re not calling their experience a sexual assault or a rape then neither should you. The last thing you want to do is label someone else’s experience.
Telling someone else of your assault is a courageous step and should be respected as much. Acknowledging the difficulty of coming out to share your experience is conducive to a healthy healing process. Healing takes time and one can only be patient, taking it one step at a time.

Being someone else’s support makes an impact on recovery. As a community, we should be fostering support on that same level. Encouraging and maintaining spaces in which survivors feel safe and protected is important. Spaces like these are necessary and should be created on every college campus. We all have a stake in what kind of society and community we want to live in.

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