Matt Schwartz
Equinox Staff
Keene State College students and members of the Keene community gathered Wednesday, April 10, to talk about sexual violence. “Shout Out” and “Take Back the Night” were ways to listen, witness, speak and take to the streets, according to the Counseling Center Sexual Violence Prevention Program.
Coordinator for Sexual Violence and Prevention Education Forrest Seymour stated that Shout Out and Take Back the Night are two separate but related programs. He said Shout Out is more of a healing event, while Take Back the Night is a political event.
During the Shout Out event in the Mabel Brown Room, victims of sexual violence shared their stories to a packed crowd. Senior Melanie S., who was a victim of sexual abuse at the age of 12, said she wants to be a positive influence on others to break the silence.
“What abusers do is try to silence victims in every way possible. It’s important to get the community together in the same room because these types of things [sexual violence] aren’t talked about on the streets. It’s really nice to empower people to talk about what they went through,” Melanie stated.
Shout Out quickly transitioned into Take Back the Night. The event began with people making rally signs to bring on the march. Junior Krista Sullivan, president of Feminist Collective, said that Take Back the Night is a way to raise awareness of sexual violence.
“Take Back the Night is a march to reclaim the night in honor of victims of sexual violence. It is a way for survivors to feel empowered,” Sullivan said.
After making the signs, members of Feminist Collective and others made their way from the student center to Appian Way. The group marched from the KSC campus to the gazebo in Central Square. While marching the group shouted out chants such as “Yes means yes. No means no. Whatever we wear; wherever we go,” and “What do we want? Consent. When do we want it? All of the time!”
The group lit candles and had a moment of silence once they arrived at the gazebo. After the moment of silence, people were given an opportunity to say a few words to the group. Once everyone was finished at the square, they headed back to campus. Members of the group commented on the importance of take back the night. Olivia Chiacchia, a volunteer advocate at the Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention, said that the event is a great way for people to stand up for what they believe in.
“It is important for a group of women to stand up for a woman’s right to be able to walk around at night and wear whatever they want while feeling safe,” Chiacchia stated. Chiacchia also commented on ways to decrease sexual violence. “It’s really a lot of awareness and I think the events tonight really spoke to people. Education is also really important,” Chiacchia added.
According to Forrest Seymour, most sex crimes go unreported. “Here, as everywhere, most survivors of sexual assault are very secretive. It is hard to gather good statistics because nobody wants to report it [sex crimes]. Best estimates show that less than 50 percent go unreported,” Seymour stated.
Seymour went on to comment about sex crimes at KSC. Preliminary findings from a study conducted by Seymour and his office show that ten percent of female students report that they have experienced some kind of sexual assault during their freshman year alone.
Seymour, who is also a counselor at the counseling center, explained how taking the power back from the perpetrator would help the victim heal.
“Sexual assault is a crime of power and control. Generally speaking the survivors blame themselves. There is a great deal of shame involved. It is a huge transition for the victim to say ‘this has happened to me’ and to let go of the shame. By telling other people of what happened will allow the victim to take the power back from the situation,” Seymour commented.
Take Back the Night and Shout Out were sponsored by the Counseling Center Sexual Violence Prevention Program, Mentors in Violence Prevention, Feminist Collective and other organizations.
Matt Schwartz can be contacted at
mschwartz@keene-equinox.com