Take Back the Night march
to protest sexual violence
By Jenny Jones
Senior Writer
According to a recent study by the National Institute
of Justice, 500 women and 50 men will be sexually assaulted within a
year at a university the size of Purdue.
And during the year of 2000, six rape cases, five
instances of sexual battery and five occurrences of public indecency
were reported to the Purdue police. These numbers, however, are inconclusive
and only represent the number of incidences reported; for every rape
reported there are 10 others that are said to go unreported.
It is because of this that the Women’s Resource
Office, Women’s Studies Program and Purdue Student Union Board
are organizing a Take Back the Night march at Purdue.
The march will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday
in front of the Union and it is open to the public.
A short rally will begin the evening, followed
by the march, which will travel through campus. Once the march concludes,
a concert by the Bliss Gypsys, a local band that volunteered to perform
at the event, will be take place in front of the Union. Refreshments
will also be served.
Take Back the Night rallies are international events
that have been taking place in the United States, Canada, Latin America,
India and Europe since the late '70s as a response to sexual and domestic
violence.
Although the marches were originally held by women,
Karen Hall, director of the Women’s Resource Office, said, "We
have realized that women and men need to work together to fight against
sexual violence; we all need to unite around this issue."
According to the Take Back the Night Web site,
one in four women will be sexually assaulted before they reach the age
of 18, and 80 percent of assault victims are under the age of 30.
Because so many lives are impacted by sexual violence,
coordinators continue to hold these marches in hopes of educating everyone
about the need for reform when considering this kind of assault.
Asli Carkoglu, a graduate associate for women,
said that this is an issue that touches everyone, and by coming to the
march, people can show their support for victims while taking a stand
to stop the violence.
"The overall message of the march is that this
campus, this community, will not tolerate acts of sexual violence and
harassment toward women as well as men," she said.
The Take Back the Night march will be held as part
of this week’s week without violence, which will also include the
Clothesline Project, a speak-out and a film night.
• For more information about Take Back the
Night log onto www.iglou.com
|
