An event that allows survivors of sexual violence to share their stories and receive support called ‘Take Back the Night’ was hosted by the Womyn’s Awareness Center on Monday, May 4 in Linnaeus Arboretum Interpretive Center.
“‘Take Back’ the Night is a national and international event that has been organized for over thirty years,” Senior Political Science and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Major Mackenzie Brill said. “It’s put on at a bunch of different schools, and some people will host rallies or quieter sharing spaces, which is what we have traditionally done.”
Brill is Co-President of Womyn’s Awareness Center and has dedicated much of her time fighting for justice in the realm of sexual violence, including bringing events such as ‘Take Back the Night’ to campus.
“For the past three years we’ve had it in a small space with usually 10 to 15 people,” Brill said. “It’s just a space for survivors of sexual assault to come and share their stories and really be in a community that supports them.”
The topic of sexual violence has been prevalent in conversations at Gustavus following the Building Bridges conference on rape culture in March.
“I think the Building Bridges Conference this year really struck a lot of people and helped people to see that sexual violence happens at Gustavus and it happens often,” Brill said. “I am hoping that we will have a large turnout of both people who want to share their stories and those who want to support others.”
With some on social media being resistant to the ideas taught at the conference, ‘Take Back the Night’ has taken on more significance than ever.
“The backlash after Building Bridges has only heightened the passion of those of us who work for justice for survivors of sexual assault and our drive to really work for that. I really hope that ‘Take Back the Night’ will be a space for survivors to recoup after a lot of hurtful things, like the denial of rape culture and denial that sexual violence happens at Gustavus,” Brill said.
Unlike the Building Bridges conference, the main criticism ‘Take Back the Night’ has faced is that these chances for survivors to speak out are not offered often enough.
“I kind of wish it wasn’t just one night. I feel like this happens a lot more to people than they get to talk about,” Junior Sociology and Anthropology Major Victoria Contreras said.

“It felt a little tense until the first person spoke up to share. From there, it became a room of support.”—Marshall Bell

Along with opening up these safe spaces, it was suggested that students who are mandated reporters be offered opportunities to hear the stories of others without being obligated to put them in contact with someone if they don’t want to pursue counseling at the time.

“It would be cool to have something like this for mandatory reporters,” Contreras said. “It’s kind of hard when you want to actually talk about these things but you don’t want to put the burden of that reporting on your friends.”
The idea of sharing stories of sexual violence comes with some apprehension, but it can also help to build a community in which people are able to be open about their experiences.
“It felt a little tense until the first person spoke up to share. From there, it became a room of support and people were almost hoping that others shared so that they could give their direct support knowing full well that it’s someone who needs it,” Junior Geology and Biology Major Marshall Bell said.
The Womyn’s Awareness Center meets at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays in the Womyn’s Awareness Center, which is next to the Dive. Students interested in justice surrounding issues of sexual violence and other feminist topics are encouraged to join.

-Kaity Young