Brandeis students Take Back the Night

Brandeis students rallied and marched against sexual assault worldwide on Monday evening as part of an annual “Take Back the Night” event to raise awareness of the issue.
 
Take Back the Night’s mission is to eradicate sexual assault globally.
 
Hundreds of Brandeis students, faculty and staff gathered for a candlelight vigil before marching across campus together. Participants stopped at most residence halls and major campus buildings and were invited to share statistics, general thoughts and feelings and sometimes even deeply personal stories about sexual violence.
 
The march ended at Spingold Theater, though those who wanted to continue sharing found a more confidential setting inside Merrick Theater.
 
Rape Crisis Center peer advocates were on hand to offer support to participants.
 
“It’s important to have a setting in which students can share their stories, hear from their peers and be in solidarity with survivors in a way that supports a community of care,” said Sexual Assault Services & Prevention Specialist Sheila McMahon.
 
The event was sponsored by Students Talking About Relationships, the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, Brandeis Students against Sexual Violence, Queer Resource Center, the Office of Prevention Services and the Rape Crisis Center.
 
“Take Back the Night was established to empower survivors to claim for themselves the spaces that had been taken from them, either literally or figuratively,” McMahon explained.
 
“By lighting up the night, they take back the spaces taken away by the experiences of harm they’ve had.”