The Shippensburg University Pride and Gender Equity (PAGE) Center hosted a public event on sexual violence awareness and prevention titled “Take Back the Night” on Thursday, April 23, in CUB 119.

Guest speakers from local domestic violence programs were invited to give their insights on raising awareness and to dig deeper into what healing from the scars of sexual violence looks like.

According to PAGE Center Director Miller Hoffman, the programs were also invited to provide confidential support for any students who have personal trauma that they wished to speak about to someone.

The main purpose of “Take Back the Night” is to provide a safe place for survivors and awareness advocates to open up and discuss the issues that matter to them. Food was provided, as were crayons, coloring pages, fidget toys and stickers.

Booths were set up around the room that provided contact information for local domestic and sexual violence resources.

Co-president Grayson Houser of the SU chapter of It’s On Us gave opening remarks and welcomed the guest speakers. It’s On Us is a student-led organization that focuses on sexual violence prevention on campus.

Anna Nasser, the public education advocate for the Domestic Violence Services (DVS) of Cumberland and Perry Counties, was one of the speakers invited to provide comments.

The focus of her brief remarks was on how people can offer support to survivors.

According to Nasser, DVS provides survivors with assistance in legal advocacy, emergency shelter, counseling, court accompaniment, medical accompaniment and public education. Student support is also an important part of prevention work.

“Being here is a really important thing. When it comes to prevention methods, a lot of us were raised to hear ‘be careful of who you’re with, watch your drinks,’ but really that’s not what it’s about,” she said. “Prevention is about talking to people and educating people from the ground level and not just expecting potential survivors to protect themselves. As a community, we all have a responsibility to protect each other.”

Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect (PCAR) Legal Director Andrea Levy was also invited to provide insightful stories from survivors. Her speech had a clear message — recovery is possible.

Levy also brought attention to unreported childhood sexual assault. The age when most survivors bring up what they experienced as a child is around age 50, she explained.

As the night concluded, Houser led a march across campus to a tulip bed located outside of Lackhove Hall. During the march, participants were encouraged to shout various slogans that affirmed a desire to let survivors reclaim their voices.

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