Spring Break
Take Back the Night March held to gain awareness of sexual assault
Natalie Jurgen
Issue date: 9/23/08 Section: News
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Starting at 6:30 p.m. at the top of College Hill and ending at Mendenhall, about 500 students and community members shut down traffic on 10th Street as they marched chanting, "1-2-3-4, rape will be no more. 2-4-6-8, no is the word that needs to be heard. Hey Hey, Ho Ho, rape has got to go. We have a voice, we have a choice."
The goal of the "Take Back the Night" march was to raise awareness of sexual assault. Traditionally, these programs target only women, but this year the march also included men.
"This needs to be a man and woman's issue," said Sue Molhan, director of the Office of Victim Advocate Services. "Everyone needs to take responsibility and our goal is to educate men and have men understand they need to be held accountable and responsible as well."
A highlight of the march was the nationally-recognized "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" approach, where men wore women's high heels to participate in the march.
"I'm doing this because it's a good cause," said sophomore and second-time participant in the march, Mark Owolabi. "Rape needs to be a serious topic because it has definitely been desensitized."
The group marched behind the "One in Four" (Men Against Rape) R.V.
"I'm participating to stand a voice," said sophomore London Thomas.
"It's definitely something that needs to be taken seriously," said another participant, Molly Miller. "It's something that happens to all sorts of people."
The march ended at Mendenhall where a presentation by the non-profit organization "One in Four" was held in Hendrix Theatre. "One in Four" is dedicated to preventing rape by providing presentations to college-aged men and women with a focus on educating men on what to do to prevent rape and how to help a sexual assault survivor.
"One in Four's" presentation began with stressing the fact that sexual assault is any sexual contact without consent, not just sexual intercourse. They raised the statistic that four out of five times rape is committed by someone that the victim knows, and typically the victim has known their attacker for about one year.
"One in Four" also informed the crowd that the first person a sexual assault survivor is likely to come to is a friend, often times a male. They laid out a number of steps that people can follow if a friend does come to them as a victim of sexual assault.
The first thing a friend should do is encourage the victim to seek medical attention within the first three days. It is very important to let the victim go on their own accord, and not force them. Second, the friend should realize that no more violence should be involved, and not try to seek out the attacker. Third, the friend needs to talk less, and listen more. Don't pry for details and respect what they may want to keep quiet, according to the presentation. Fourth, a friend needs to believe. 96 percent of reported rapes are accurate accounts, and it is crucial not to be skeptical of the victim. Finally, it is wise for both the victim and the friend to seek a counselor.
"One in Four" also emphasized that an important step in reducing sexual assault is to help change social norms. Joking about rape and having attitudes that are harmful to women are only going to make the problem worse.
"If we condone this language, what are we standing for?" A member of "One in Four" voiced to the crowd. "We really just hope you choose to do something."
The presentation by "One in Four" was sponsored by the Office of Victim Advocate Services and funded by the Civic Leadership and Student Engagement Center.
Programs will be held throughout the rest of the week to raise awareness and help put and end to sexual assault.
This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.
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