March 1, 2010

The annual Take Back the Night speak-out and march to protest sexual violence will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, March 5, at CSU Monterey Bay.

The event serves as a safe place for survivors of sexual violence to share their experiences, often for the first time.

The evening will start at 6 p.m. when people will gather in the Student Center on the campus quad to hear guest speakers and participate in a self-defense workshop. At 7, candles will be lit and the group will march through campus to symbolically reclaim the safety of the night and raise awareness about the issue.

The march will end on the quad with a moment of silence to pay respect to the victims and survivors of sexual violence.

The event is sponsored by Theta Alpha Sigma sorority.

Take Back the Night began in 1973 in Germany, where women walked the streets by candlelight to create community awareness of violence toward women. TBTN crossed the Atlantic in1978 and was used as a theme for a national protest march at the first feminist conference on pornography in San Francisco. It has been a staple of American campus feminism since then. The event works to empower women and serves as a collective voice to demand an end to the violence.