“Take back the night, the time is near! We will not be controlled by fear!” chanted about 50 students and community members as they marched up State Street toward the Capitol Wednesday night.
The group marched in the Take Back the Night Rally to combat sexual assault and domestic violence as students and community members looked on from businesses on State Street.
To start the rally, the students gathered on Library Mall, braving the freezing cold, but were given hand warmers and t-shirts for attending. In addition, the group made signs for the event, which the Campus Women’s Center organized.
The group marched up to the front steps of the Capitol chanting “Yes means yes, no means no, whatever we wear, wherever we go” and “Wish I may, wish I might, free our lives, take back the night.”
University of Wisconsin junior Ashley Buell and Edgewood College sophomore Loni Arendt began the rally by sharing their stories through spotlight speeches between the keynote speakers.
Director of the Rape Crisis Center Kelly Anderson said another pressing issue is ensuring survivors know they are not alone in their struggle.
Elizabeth Galewski, president of the Madison chapter of the National Organization for Women urged survivors of sexual assault to be strong and do more than just go through the motions of life.
While overcoming the trauma of a sexual assault is difficult, Galewski said digging out of that whole is worth it in the end.
The event included a speech and short demonstration by Kevin McDaniel, an Aikido expert with 35 years of experience in martial arts and 32 years of experience teaching.
McDaniel urged attendees of the event to always be cautious and how to avoid potential situations where items such as a backpack could serve to put the wearer in danger.
He demonstrated how an assailant could gain control over someone by using a backpack or shoulder bag by grabbing the strap. Utilizing a backpack allows the assailant to control where a person moves, McDaniel said.
To avoid this, McDaniel said students should wear shoulder bags on one shoulder or loosen the straps on a backpack to slip out should this happen.
Madison Area Technical College freshman Misian Searles said she participated in the rally to support people she knows who have been victims of sexual assault.
“I attended for all the people who have been affected by this and members of my family who have been hurt,” Searles said.
The rally was intended to end with a candlelight vigil, but strong winds prevented any of the candles from being lit. Despite the wind, the crowd decided to hold up their unlit candles anyway.
The rally coincided with the kick-off to President Barack Obama’s unprecedented coordinated effort to combat violence against women, in which advocates, victims, governments and sponsors will collectively battle domestic violence as part of the initiative.
Valerie Jarrett, assistant to the president and senior adviser, said domestic violence has been deemed a nationwide issue, and new initiatives to solving the domestic violence problem were announced at the first ever White House round table on sexual violence Wednesday.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden addressed a group of advocates and various federal agencies who are committed to coordinating a solution across the board, she said.
The coordinated effort will work to set new rules in place that provide guidance to housing authorities and landlords, preventing victims from being evicted because of crimes committed against them.
Additionally, the Department of Justice has launched a new comprehensive campaign to reduce sexual violence by sponsoring regional forums around the country to engage the public.
The effort has also put emphasis on working with communities to identify the causes of backlogged rape kits to help get rapists off the streets, Lynn Rosenthal, White House adviser on domestic violence, said in a conference call with reporters.
Reasons for the increased backlogging differ among communities, but the national government will now provide hands-on assistance to screen evidence and pair researchers with law enforcement until backlogging is permanently eliminated, she added.
The DOJ also released new tools and practices to guide law enforcement and courts to screen for warning signs of escalated risk in domestic abuse situations, Rosenthal said.
Finally, Biden introduced plans encouraging lawyers to donate time to help abuse victims find safety and gain custody of their children through the 100,000 Lawyers Bill, she said.
When Obama introduced the 2011 budget, he proposed a $300 million increase in funding to provide domestic violence victims services, though $100 million of that funding will not come from taxpayer dollars but instead from fines and penalties against criminals.
