Auburn's Take Back the Night Walk advocates for all victims of sexual violence

On Wednesday, April 23, Auburn University's Generation Action hosted the city’s inaugural Take Back the Night Walk, a long-standing, national movement against sexual and domestic violence. With around 40 protestors, the march began at Toomer’s Corner and ended at the Campus Greenspace where participants recited poems and survivor stories, and received community resources for all victims of violence. 

Established in 2001, Take Back the Night is an organization that supports survivors of sexual violence. Generation Action, funded by Planned Parenthood, is a youth-based organization that centers on the advocacy and education of reproductive health and rights. 

According to operations director Ashley Silva, Generation Action wants to continue to advocate for victims and chose this month because April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The organization also celebrated National Denim Day earlier in the day, a week in advance of the national day, to raise awareness about sexual violence and dismantle victim-blaming arguments.   

“We want Auburn to know that they have people here that support them. They're survivors,” Silva said. “We just want to be one Auburn Family.”

Before arriving at Toomer’s Corner, Generation Action members met at the Mell Classroom Building to craft signs for the march, as well as pass out Denim Day buttons and blue ribbons. 

Some of the signs read: “Getting roofied and/or assaulted is not a part of the college experience” and “How I dress does not mean yes.”

As the group marched from Toomer’s past Samford Hall and Mary Martin Hall, senior in environmental design, Gabrielle Frazier, led the participants in anti-violence chants and a pledge “to shatter the silence on sexual violence” as “upstanders”.  

Frazier marched for her friends, aunts and uncles who now live in fear because of their attacks. 

“I'm really here to, like, support and advocate for them and break the cycle of being afraid,” Frazier said. 

Leah Price, head of tabling and content creator for Generation Action, highlighted the many resources in the Auburn area for survivors post-assault, like the Auburn University Safe Harbor and the Title IX office, so the march is also about preventing assaults from occurring in the first place. 

“What we want to make sure we're sharing tonight is that we're preventing it from the start,” Price said. “We are encouraging people to not only speak out against their experiences and make sure they're receiving help after, but really remind Auburn as a community to hold each other accountable and make sure that it doesn't happen in the first place.”

The march continued down Thach Concourse and Haley Concourse before arriving at the Campus Green. In place of candles, colored glow sticks were distributed to honor the survivors of sexual violence.  

Adrienne Angelo, director of women’s and gender studies, walked through the origins of Take Back the Night, which stem from a group of New York feminists in 1971 who linked gender-based violence to other issues like racism and colonialism. 

In 1978, the first Take Back the Night March in the United States was held in San Francisco as a public demonstration of the connection between sexual violence, human trafficking and pornography. 

In 2001, the Take Back the Night Foundation was established under the leadership of Katie Koestner, the first women to nationally and publicly come forward as a victim of date-rape.

“Today's Take Back the Night March is focused on raising the voices of survivors on school campuses and communities and reminding the world of our collective courage, bravery and solidarity as a movement. Today in America, sexual assault and domestic violence, while still prevalent, affecting the lives of millions, are issues which we now as a society are facing head off,” Angelo said. “It must remain vibrantly informed by the legacy of those who have gone before while continuing to grow and evolve. Take Back the Night is the meeting point of where the personal meets the political, as we dream about and then build a bridge together to a violence free future.”

The event continued by acknowledging men’s involvement in ending sexual assault. 

“These folks are our friends we know, and some have problematic behaviors. We have plenty to gain from being in this movement, so we can learn how to engage both survivors and perpetrators,” Price said, reading from a statement. “So of course, you need to get men involved. You cannot turn around a culture unless you're getting critical mass behind.” 

In a statement written by Ethan Levine, a transgender researcher, advocate and survivor, Levine described that one in two transgender individuals will face sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the U.S. Transgender Survey. 

“If you're someone who's invested in addressing sexual violence, which is absolutely all of you, whether in your personal life or in your paid work, transgender rights and liberation are foundational to the work that you do and to address and end sexual violence,” Levine said in his statement. 

Representatives from Rape Counselors of East Alabama informed participants the services they provide for survivors, such as a 24/7 hotline, medical and criminal justice advocacy, free counseling and a community center that has a soft room — a more comfortable space for victims to meet with law enforcement. 

RCEA is working to expand their center by adding a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner unit. They are available for community outreach events to raise awareness, such as school or Greek organization events. They also invited all to a candle vigil at Bridge Haven in Auburn on April 30 to honor survivors of sexual violence. 

Silva shared another resource and the march’s sponsor with the group. Callisto Vault is an encrypted platform that matches survivors with those who were harmed by the same perpetrator, providing free legal counseling. 

Selected poems from Take Back the Night were read by participants. In “The Statistics” by Audrey Kenny, she discussed statistics like how one in five girls will be assaulted in schools. Kenny asked her readers: “You read the statistics. Where are you?” 

Survivor stories submitted to Take Back the Night were also read. 

“This information is given to us by survivors that share their story,” Silva said. “And these are hard stories, but they're real and they're going to be intense. So I want you all to just make a safe space for yourself. Feel what you need to feel.”

At the end of the event, participants were given the chance to voice why they were present or offer support. Silva, a survivor herself, said her experience pushed her to take women’s and gender studies classes, produce a research paper on reproductive rights in Alabama and ultimately join Generation Action on campus. 

Silva is thankful for the support and approval from Auburn University.

“[The university] supports this in the capacity that they can, and I’m very appreciative of that," Silva said.

Lauren Carter, senior in sociology, serves as the Sociology Club president, which partnered with Generation Action for Denim Day and the Take Back the Night Walk. Carter is proud to help create a legacy of Auburn students that advocates for survivors. 

“What I would say to a survivor is how, like, regardless of however you process and whatever you choose to do or not to do, you're brave just by being and absolutely you're believed,” Carter said. “You have the right to be respected and you're loved and cared for, and regardless of whatever happens, at the end of the day you were brave.”

For survivor support, call Rape Counselors of East Alabama at (334) 705-0510.