TBTN has been
active since 1975.
The first Take Back the Night event in
the United States for which we have received documentation took place
in Philadelphia in October of 1975. Citizens of Philadelphia rallied
together after the murder of young microbiologist, Susan Alexander
Speeth, who was stabbed by a stranger a block from her home while
walking alone.
The first Take Back the Night abroad
for which we have received documentation occurred at The International
Tribunal on Crimes against Women. The Tribunal took place March 4
through 8, 1976 in Brussels, Belgium. Two thousand women representing
40 countries attended the event. These were the first documented Take
Back the Night marches, which occurred as a candlelight procession
through the streets of Philadelphia in 1975 and Brussels in 1976.
There were four gathering places. I was at the Spring Garden one.
Interestingly,
Columbia
University said the following:
A brief note about the structure of the
march: TBTN is aware of the problems presented by separating the march
on the basis of gender. We are currently discussing these issues as a
group and a community. The lack of change in structure this year is not
a result of ignoring the issue but is instead a reflection of on-going
discussion and education.
The number of men in our march was small, but Philadelphia didn't
engage in any separation of the genders.
New sidewalks are being put in in between where we assembled and where
we ultimately ended up.
Here's
Ann Arbor's
statement of objectives:
- Increase
community
awareness of issues of violence against women, and its
interrelationship with all other forms of discrimination;
- Educate
about
the extent and the nature of the violence that is systematically
used against women to keep us from becoming powerful, autonomous
individuals;
- Honor
the
memory of the victims of violence against women and celebrating its
survivors;
The second group arrives.
Objectives continued:
- Serve
as
a collective voice for women to demand a world in which women's
bodies, minds and souls are not targets of violence;
- Empower
individual
men and women to take direct action against violence,
whether it is through speaking out, lobbying, voting or some other form
of activism;
- Provide
the
leadership to challenge organizations and institutions to implement
policies and initiatives which are effective in addressing issues of
violence against women.
Both of the groups making noise in front of the Unitarian Univrsalist
church where we met (21st & Chestnut).
TBTN Dupage in
Illinois gives us the rundown on sexual violence:
1
out
of every 6 American women have been the victims of an attempted or
completed rape in their lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted
rape.)
93%
of juvenile sexual assault victims
know their attacker.
34.2%
of
attackers were family members
58.7%
were
acquaintances
Third group arrives.
Film clip (MPG) of groups chanting.
The TBTN of
Tampa
Bay describes their event in this way:
On April 16, 2011, the Sexual
Violence Task Force of Tampa Bay in collaboration with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay is
hosting Take Back the Night, an interactive event that creates
awareness, empowers survivors and educates the community about sexual
violence. ...
Last year, the Crisis Center provided
forensic exams and advocacy services to 273 rape victims in
Hillsborough County. This number represents less than a
third of all sexual assaults that occurred last year, which
demonstrates the need for outreach and awareness events like Take Back
the Night.
Fourth group arrives.
More chanting.
The press release from the
Toronto
TBTN
group states:
Sadly, we have been marching and
protesting for 30 years. And although violence against
women has been brought into mainstream awareness, it still persists in
the lives of
women, trans people and children every day. The Toronto Rape Crisis
Centre /
Multicultural Women Against Rape has continued to fight the rape
culture we live in
while providing support to survivors who continue to experience
violence. While some
laws have been enacted and sexual assaults are taken more seriously in
certain contexts,
violence has actually become stronger in our culture and implicit
violence has become
more pervasive.
We had a nice big rally by the end. The neighborhood
knew we were there!
And
still more chanting.
The
Brevard, FL
TBTN lists still more sex crimes and assures its readers:
We
can
break this cycle by shattering the silence. There is help and
you can find it on this site. If you or anyone you know is or you
think, may be in danger of becoming one of these statistics, contact
these resources. They are here to help.
This is about half of the complete group. After we were all sitting, we
spent quite a while listening to testimony concerning sexual
abuse. It brought to my mind the Melissa Etheridge song "
Testify"
I, I want to testify
My love still lives and breathes
And my soul is screaming why
The thoughts won't let me sleep
Don't let hearts break
And don't let children cry
Before it gets too late
I want to testify
I take what's said as my daily dread
I turn the page and I turn my head
I pick I choose on the evening news
Cause by cause they fight and one by one they lose
Finally, we all lit candles and meditated on what we had heard and
learned.