The term “date rape,” as it is used today, is familiar to many adults and adolescents living in the twenty-first century. Studies have shown that more women have been raped on dates by their boyfriends than by strangers.
In 2001, to address this issue, one date rape victim committed to speak out against rape culture. Katie Koestner lead the initiative and, along with other victims, established Take Back the Night (TBTN), the first nationally recognized charitable 501(c) 3 foundation.
On Thursday, April 18, Houghton will host its own TBTN event. Students have the opportunity to march around the campus and “speak out” against sexual violence. Survivors or friends and family of survivors will be invited to share their stories with the campus. As one of the organizers, Lydia Strand, senior, said, “I think having Take Back the Night here at Houghton is so important because we are often afraid of honestly talking about sexual abuse in our own communities and in our own families.”
The TBTN events will begin with a kick-off party on Monday April 15 at 6 p.m. in the campus center. Printed Matter Press will be printing the TBTN logo on shirts or other items that students bring. At 7 p.m. that evening, there will be a panel discussion of rape culture in America in the third floor library room 323.
On Wednesday April 17, religion professor Kristina LaCelle-Peterson will be leading chapel. She will also be available for lunch afterwards. The final event of the week is a march around the quad starting at 8 p.m. on Thursday April 18 at the chapel steps. There will be a station during the march focusing on statistics and headlines about rape, followed by a station incorporating a poetry reading, and finishing with a station involving a communal art project. The march will be followed by a speakout in the chapel and a prayer service in the chapel basement.
Naomi Woosley, an alumna of Houghton, is also one of the TBTN organizers. Woolsey said, “We seek to empower and promote healing for survivors of sexualized violence who are in our campus community. One goal for this year’s TBTN is to open our eyes to rape culture and beginning to realize the subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways in which our culture–sometimes even our church culture–contributes to it.”
The TBTN foundation’s mission is to eliminate all forms of sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and sexual abuse. Woosley emphasized that, “A person’s gender–a person’s physical existence–should not be cause for that person to fear for her or his safety.”
Sharing stories and experiences reminds individuals that sexualized violence is not okay, despite what rape culture suggests. Speaking out can help break the cycle of violence. For more information on the Take Back the Night Foundation, visit their website at http://takebackthenight.org/ or contact Sydnie Cunningham to learn more about Houghton’s Take Back The Night events.