Local Universities Will "Take Back the Night"

Via Dominican University:

Dominican University and Concordia University are joining forces to take a stand against sexual violence by organizing a Take Back the Night March on Thursday, April 12. In addition the universities will be offering additional activities during the week designed to build awareness, foster healing and prevent sexual assault.

The community is invited to attend an opening ceremony in Dominican University’s Quad at 4:00 p.m.during which President Donna Carroll and several students will speak out on sexual violence against women. At 4:40 p.m., participants will march from Dominican University, 7900 W. Division Street, to Concordia University, 7400 W. Augusta Street, for a candlelight vigil and remarks by Vice President of Student Life and Leadership Development Jeff Hynes and a representative from Concordia’s student government.

According to the US Department of Justice, someone in the US is sexually assaulted every two minutes, and every year there are almost 220,000 victims of sexual assault. Slightly over half of these assaults are never reported to police.

Approximately two-thirds of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in 2010 that 20 – 25 percent of US college women experience attempted or completed rape while in college.

Take Back the Night (TBTN) was designed over 40 years ago to combat these statistics. Now a staple on college campuses across the country, TBTN marches were held in the 1970s in response to a spate of violent crimes against women. Marches were first held in Philadelphia in 1975 and in Brussels in 1976 as women with candles walked through streets at night. One part vigil for women who have been impacted by violence and one part protest against that violence, TBTN marches are now held annually in cities around the world.

For more information on the Dominican/Concordia Take Back the Night March, contact Katie Kramer, Dominican University’s assistant director of student involvement, at 708-524-6458.