Take Back the Night (TBTN) has been hosted annually in different countries around the world since the 1970s as an opportunity for people to speak out about their experiences with sexual violence.
UCSC Women’s Center held a rally and march on April 26 for Take Back the Night starting at the Quarry Plaza and ending at Oakes Learning Center. The Women’s Center has been hosting the event since the 1980s and this year it was co-sponsored by the Asian American/Pacific Islander Resource Center, Student Union Assembly, CARE Council and the Cantú Queer Center.
After the march, the event continued with the Survivor Speakout at Oakes Learning Center featuring keynote speaker Amita Swadhin, survivor, an activist and educator survivors of sexual assault. Survivors were encouraged to speak about their experiences to lessen the sense of isolation and to feel like they were not alone when addressing and managing their healing process.