Come out to – hear speakers, march and make some noise.
It is time once again to Take Back the Night in Prince George, The 28th annual Take Back the Night march is an event to honour the memory of the women who have not survived violence; to celebrate those who have; and to demand an end to all forms of violence against women.
Meet at the Civic Centre/Canada Games Plaza on Thursday, September 19 at 6 p.m. Short presentations will start the evening off before the march begins at 6:30 p.m. The march will include a moment of silence at the courthouse.
Take Back the Night is open to and welcomes all; however, the march itself is exclusively for persons who identify as women and for children.
History of Take Back The Night: The first Take Back the Night on record occurred at The International Tribunal on Crimes against Women in 1976 in Brussels, Belgium. After the Tribunal, Reclaim the Night arose in Rome in 1976 where 16,000 rapes were recorded.
West Germany and England soon followed suit. Australia and India also held events. Across the Atlantic, New York held the first North American march for women in 1976; however, it wasn’t until 1977 that the slogan Take Back the Night was introduced by Anne Pride as the title of a memorial she read at an anti-violence rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
At that time, Canada was also experiencing many cases of sexual violence against women. As a result, Canadian women held their first Take Back the Night event in 1978 in Vancouver, British Columbia, organized by the Fly-By-Night Collective. Vancouver Rape Relief held Take Back the Night marches from 1980-1985. Shortly thereafter, in 1992, the first march in Prince George was organized.
Why Take Back the Night? A woman walks alone down a dark, deserted street. With every shadow she sees, and every sound she hears, her pounding heart flutters and skips a beat. She hurries her pace as she sees her destination become closer. She is almost there. She reaches the front door, goes inside, collects herself, and moves on forgetting, at least for tonight, the gripping fear that momentarily enveloped her life. This scene could have occurred anywhere last night, last year, or even 100 years ago. That women have faced – and continue to face – anxiety when walking alone at night is totally unacceptable. That is why Take Back the Night began and why it’s so important to show our determination to end that fear and any violence against women once and for all.