The University of West Florida Wellness Services and UWF Peer Educators will host the 18th annual Take Back The Night event at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 6 in the UWF Field House. Take Back The Night serves as an international event to educate, protest and bring awareness of violence by creating safe communities and respectful relationships through awareness events and initiatives. Take Back The Night will be the opening event for Greek Week.
Throughout its history, the event has inspired both women and men to confront social ills and seek to end sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual abuse and all other forms of sexual violence. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports one in five college women and one in 16 college men are sexual assault survivors.
Take Back The Night will commence with an information fair that promotes campus and community resources for dating violence, stalking and sexual violence. The event will conclude with a campus march, where students take back the night with chants of activism and support for survivors. Free “Change for the Future†T-shirts and food will be available for UWF students.
The event will showcase a variety of media and news that highlight sexual violence awareness or education. Male and female survivors will share their stories about sexual or dating violence. A select number of submissions for Creativity for a Cause will be read, performed or showcased by participants during the event. Creativity for a Cause is a University contest, encouraging students, faculty and staff to submit a song, dance, skit, poem, painting or drawing that expresses thoughts or reactions to sexual violence.
For more information about Take Back The Night, visit www.uwf.edu/offices/wellness-services/wellness-initiatives/take-back-the-night.
