Take Back the Night is an opportunity to make a community statement — to say that the University of Idaho does not tolerate violence and to stand in support and unity with people who have been affected by it.
The UI Women’s Center will host Take Back the Night to provide the community with a chance to come together and speak out against domestic violence. The event will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Agriculture Science Building, room 106.
“Take Back the Night is a rally and a march to raise awareness of interpersonal violence within our community, and to break down isolation that occurs when people are affected by it,” said Bekah MillerMacPhee, assistant director for programs.
MillerMacPhee said the event is important because it allows the community to show that this is an issue that will not be ignored and that can be faced together.
“The purpose of this event is to really raise awareness of violence that happens often behind closed doors in private spaces,” MillerMacPhee said. “Violence that happens within relationships and intimate spaces that make it difficult for people to talk about.”
Lysa Salsbury, director of the women’s center, said Take Back the Night kicks off with a rally that will introduce speakers who explain the history and purpose of this event.
Salsbury said this year’s opening rally will include a welcoming address by Dr. Mary Beth Staben, a drumming performance by Vandal Nation and special keynote speakers. One of the keynote speakers opening in the rally, Jessica Matsaw, will share her own personal story involving domestic violence.
“I have my own experience with domestic abuse,” Matsaw said. “I’ve been through some really hard things, and I feel like that’s where my heart is. I want to be able to be in those hard spaces with those and to say I know it’s hard, but it can get better.”
Matsaw said this will be the first time she participates in the rally.
Salsbury said following the rally, the community will have a silent march around the UI campus. Participants in the march will be provided with signs and glow sticks.
After the march, Salsbury said the event includes a speak out that will create a safe space for students, or whoever wants to share their own story about the violence they or someone they care about has experienced.
Take Back the Night has taken place on campus for more than 12 years, hosted by both student groups and the Women’s Center, MillerMacPhee said. It is something that happens in communities all around the world.
Salsbury said Take Back the Night is a global event that began in Belgium during the mid-1970s. The first candlelit march took place through the streets of Brussels.
MillerMacPhee said the Women’s Center worked alongside other organizations on campus and in the community, including Vandal Health Education and Alternatives to Violence on the Palouse.
Previously held in April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, MillerMacPhee said the event is now a part of Campus Safety Week and is open for anyone to attend.
“(Take Back the Night) says to survivors, we support you, we see you and we hear you,” Salsbury said.
Savannah Cardon
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