Take Back the Night

Menomonie, WI ? Shatter the Silence. Stop the Violence. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. At 7 PM on Friday, April 25th, UW-Stout students in collaboration with The Bridge to Hope, will be holding an international event to increase awareness of sexual assault. Take Back the Night originated in 1877 to protest sexual violence women encountered while walking on the streets alone at night. Since then, this event has become worldwide, starting in the United States in Philadelphia, PA in 1975. At this event there will be speakers, acoustic guitar music, open mic, a candle-light vigil, and resources on sexual violence awareness, education, and prevention. This event will also be in collaboration with the Clothesline Project. The Clothesline project is an opportunity for women affected by violence to express their emotions on a shirt, and then hang their shirt on the clothesline for others to view. These shirts displaying powerful messages to end sexual violence will be hanging in the Menomonie community during the month of April. We will also have an opportunity for people to make a t-shirt to add to the clothesline during our event. The vigil will begin at 9:30 pm. We will walk as a group, from the Raw Deal to the UW-Stout clock tower, which represents women feeling safe walking alone at night.   *In case of bad weather, the candle-light vigil will be held at The Raw Deal. Take Back the Night Contact: Melissa Hesketh (student Project Manager) Phone: 715-497-6277 Email: heskethm0642@my.uwstout.edu Clothesline Contact: Samantha Hastings (student Project Manager) Email: hastingss2065@my.uwstout.edu Clothesline website: http://www.clotheslineproject.org/