Photo caption: Shelli Larkin, event organizer and director of AU’s Student Health Services, welcomes attendees to the 25th annual Take Back the Night program. Staff photo by Liz Wright.
On Tuesday evening, April 2, Augusta University partnered with several community outreach programs to participate in the nation’s 25th annual Take Back the Night ceremony in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Prior to the program starting, various organizations attended the event in an effort to educate locals about nearby resources, including: the Rape Crisis Center, Augusta SafeHomes, Child Enrichment, the District Attorney’s Office, Augusta University Police, Piedmont Hospital and many more.
Offering safe centers, counseling, childcare and statistics on domestic violence and sexual assault, organizations highlighted important resources freely available to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
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In addition to recognizing and celebrating the “triumphs of survivors,” the event strongly focused on how the community can collectively help shatter the silence of sexual violence.
For Shelli Larkin, event organizer and director of AU’s Student Health Services, Take Back the Night represented a united front in preventing sexual violence against all genders, races, ages and ethnicities.
“It’s nationally recognized in honoring the survivors and trying to look at preventing sexual assault and sexual violence in our communities,” she said. “It gets more and more powerful every year because of our community partners … we’re here and we have the resources to serve victims across all ages.”
According to reports from the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), women ages 16-24 are three to four times more likely to experience sexual violence. As a result, Larkin said college students are especially in need of open conversations to avoid victim isolation.
“On college campuses, it is sometimes very hard for people to report, and we understand that, so knowing the resources that are available – not only on campus, but in the community – allows for the growth of them everywhere we go,” she said. “That’s the goal – getting the message out and letting everyone know.”
After allowing different organizations to handout information to participants, the Take Back the Night ceremony continued with brief speeches from multiple community figures who have dedicated their career in the fight against sexual violence.
Among these speakers was Augusta University’s Chief Diversity Officer Garrett Green and District Attorney Jared T. Williams.
“Take Back the Night isn’t just an event. It’s a movement, a beacon of hope and a call to action,” Green said. “… according to the CDC, approximately over half of women and almost 1 in 3 men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact in their lifetime.”
To Green, these recorded statistics are more than just numbers, because they represent the lived experiences of friends, family members, colleagues and students.
“They underscore the urgency of our collective effort to battle sexual violence in all its forms,” he said. “As a university community, we are responsible for fostering a culture of consent, respect and accountability. We must strive to create an environment where every individual feels safe, feels valued and empowered to speak out against sexual violence.”
While Green discussed the community’s need to “take back the night,” Williams spoke on Augusta’s Special Victims Unit, which helps victims legally fight their attackers in court.
“People don’t always understand that victims don’t fit a particular mold, nor do the predators,” he said. “Events like this raise awareness and allow us to go into courtrooms and win justice for victims, because it helps people be more informed about what sexual assault really looks like – not just the image they get from TV or societal bias.”
Describing various cases of sexual assault involving women, children and abusive fathers, Williams said his office has always prioritized saving those with no voice.
“Tonight, there is a little child that’s afraid to go to sleep because he doesn’t know if tonight is going to be one of the good nights, filled with his dreams, or one of the bad nights, where his abuser wakes him up to his nightmare,” he said. “Everyday we work in courtrooms through the community to take back the night … tonight is about being a voice for those who need it most.”
As many cases often develop into generational trauma from denial or unreported attacks, Williams advised parents to support their children or grandchildren in sexual violence cases, and to teach them the importance of only trusting “safe adults.”
“Teach [children] that safe adults don’t ask them to keep secrets, because that’s the piece we see so often. ‘Don’t tell your mom or you’ll be in trouble,’ or, ‘Don’t tell your mom or I’ll be in trouble.’ They try to guilt children … so you have to be cognizant of that,” he said. “Provide a space for your children to be open and honest with you.”
By raising trial success in Richmond County from 48% in 2019 to 80% in 2022, Williams said he was honored that he and his staff could fight for those who feel alone and powerless against their abuser.
“I love this community. I was born and raised here, and I want every woman, child and man to feel the safety they deserve,” he said. “I will not stop fighting until that is a reality for all of us.”
Following Williams’ speech, two survivors shared their experiences and said survivors have to join forces in ending sexual violence.
“I’m here to say that it’s not your fault, and you can still follow your dreams no matter what,” Madeline Tanner said. “I know it’s hard to talk about what happened, but you need to … ask for help – no one will judge. My name is Maddie and I survived.”
Fellow survivor, an artist who goes by the name Thou Art Ju D, said she hoped the event encouraged many survivors to share their story and be strengthened in survivors unity.
“This is such an important matter … you are not alone. It’s not your fault what happened and your voice matters,” she said. “If someone ever comes to you and shares their experience, never look at it as being too small and never look at it as being too big. Know that it’s never a victim’s fault, and ‘no’ means no.”
With Georgia ranking number one in the country for teen dating violence, according to the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, Williams said it was especially important for parents to teach their children about bodily autonomy.
“Teach them and instill in them that no one has the right to touch them, and they also don’t have the right to touch anyone else,” he said.
For those wanting to help prevent sexual violence in the community, Williams strongly recommended community members take an interest in organizations that offer vital services for survivors, such as volunteering with SafeHomes.
To volunteer with SafeHomes, a domestic violence center for women and children, visit: https://www.safehomesdv.org/GetInvolved
To report sexual assault, visit https://www.rainn.org/resources or call 800-656-4673
