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Take Back the Night is an international rally and march that is
organized in local communities with the purpose of unifying women, men, and
children in an awareness of violence against women, children and families. The
event is a collaboration of community and campus and other interested persons
who are ready to take a stand against violence and make the night safe for
everyone. The march intends to:
- Increase community awareness of issues of
violence against women, and its interrelationship with all other forms of
discrimination;
- Educate about the extent and the nature of
the violence that is systematically used against women to keep us from becoming
powerful, autonomous individuals;
- Honor the memory of the victims of violence
against women and celebrating its survivors;
- Serve as a collective voice for women to
demand a world in which women's bodies, minds and souls are not targets of
violence;
- Empower individual men and women to take
direct action against violence, whether it is through speaking out, lobbying,
voting or some other form of activism;
- Provide the leadership to challenge
organizations and institutions to implement policies and initiatives which are
effective in addressing issues of violence against women.
While different organizations and agencies may sponsor
this event, the message is always the same: "We march to demand that
the perpetrators of this violence--the batterers, the rapists, the murderers--be
held responsible for their actions and be made to
change."
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