By Sarah Stortz
A crowd of University of Iowa community members marched in unison away from the Old Capitol. From a distance, their chants could be heard: “1, 2, 3, 4, we won’t take it anymore,” as they marched to and around the Pedestrian Mall.
Halfway through their walk, a bystander spewed profanity at the protesters, but they persisted to complete their march around the block.
The event, called Take Back the Night, took place on Tuesday night; residents came together to advocate prevention of domestic violence, relationship violence, and sexual abuse.
After the march, the group reunited on the Pentacrest, where survivors of abuse were invited to publicly speak about their experiences.
Since 1979, Take Back the Night has been an annual event for the Iowa City community.
This year, several university organizations collaborated to organize the event, including the UI Student Government, the Women’s Resource and Action Center, the Rape Victim Advocacy Program, the Antiviolence Coalition, and UIowa Feminist Union.
UI junior Madi Hoffman, one of the event organizers, said attending Take Back the Night meant a great deal to her.
“Sexual violence is such a huge problem all over the nation,” she said. “It is a problem on our campus and to give a space that is safe and letting survivors speak up over their experience is such an empowering and important thing to do. It helps counteract the silencing of the violence that often happens after the event has occurred. It gives people a place where they can come and talk about it.”
RVAP Director Adam Robinson said the event is a crucial for his organization because it sheds on the issue of sexual abuse.
“Sexual violence happens far too frequently to all populations,” he said. “Sexual violence is about power and control, so events like Take Back the Night are about re-establishing our power, and that we honor everyone’s safety and the right to never experience [sexual assault.]”
UISG Sen. Jessica Owens, an organizer of the event, said she felt the need to contribute after spectating what assault survivors have gone through at a previous rally.
“The most emotionally impacting part is the audience testimonials,“ she said. “It’s definitely very hard to sit through, but I think it’s an essential experience to go there one time and hear the incredible bravery of all of the people. Just experiencing it really changes your perspective on things.”
After completing her third year in Take Back the Night, Hoffman said, she looks back fondly participating in the previous rallies.
“I’m very grateful that I get to take part of this event every year, it’s something that I always look forward to because I know how important it is and how beneficial it is for our campus to have this,” Hoffman said. “I want survivors to know that it’s OK to speak out, and people are here for you. We believe you, and we’ll listen to you.”