This April, students across the country are coming together to draw attention to sexual violence by participating in Take Back the Night rallies. Take Back the Night brings students and community members together to break the silence around sexual assault, and reclaim cities and campuses as safe spaces for everyone. In addition to marches and rallies, many Take Back the Night events include “speakouts” where people can voice their own experiences with sexual abuse. “Once people can get better, and move from victim to survivor, some may move on to warrior, where they are now proactive and are empowering other people,” said University of Madison-Wisconsin rally organizer Chynna Haas. “That’s how we are getting more people talking about their issues and making it public.” 2009 marks the 33rd year of Take Back the Night rallies.

While statistics show that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, sexual assault remains a highly underreported crime, largely because of the stigma that surrounds talking about it. On college, up to one in four women will be assaulted or raped by the time they graduate.  “If this is true, 4,957 women on [Penn State’s] campus will be or have been raped or assaulted,” Take Back the Night organizer Kaitlyn Ludgate said.

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