Take Back The Night

TAKE BACK THE NIGHT

Bridgewater State University

April 2012

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

1 out of 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.

Females between the ages of 20-24 are the most likely victims of domestic violence.

1 out of 6 American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape.)

7% of girls grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.

(Take Back The Night Foundation [TBTN Foundation], 2009, p. 2)

The Take Back The Night Foundation

One of the first known “Take Back the Night” events occurred in Belgium over thirty years ago with a candlelight procession of over two thousand women from 40 different countries united under one purpose; to stop the perisisten and widespread violence against women. Since this time events have been held in Rome, Germany, England, Australia, India, Canada and the United States in response to the continued abuse and sexual assault of their female population. The Take Back The Night Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established in 2001 with a mission “to end sexual violence in all of its forms including sexual assault, sexual abuse, dating violence, and domestic violence. TBTN empowers survivors in the healing process and inspires responsibility in all. The goal of TBTN is to create safe communities and respectful relationships through awareness events and initiatives”. (TBTN Foundation, 2009, p. 2).

Author Mark S. Homan in his book “ Promoting Community Change; Making it Happen in the Real World” suggests three things that can help empower people; confronting the injustice; bringing similarly affected people together; and raising awareness of the injustice so that people who are in a position to do so, can take action. (Homan, 2011) Three key components of a Take Back The Night Foundation Event parallel his ideas; rallies and speak-outs where audience members can tell their stories; marches through the neighborhood or community to raise awareness; and a keynote speaker who is typically a well known and influential community member. Allowing individuals to tell their stories is a form of confronting their perpetrator, which in turn aids in the healing process. The bringing of people together creates a network of support clearly acknowledging that “we are in this together”. There is strength in numbers. Finally, these events are a venue for people to take action and bring the issue of violence against women out into the open, raising awareness in the community. 

Shatter the Silence      Stop the Violence

References

Brown, M. J. (2009). Building community. In Building powerful community organizations; A personal guide to creating groups that can solve problems and change the world (pp. 335-348). Retrieved from http://plato.bridgew.edu/@@F49E12DBEF01BFD8BF191A14480B79C0/courses/1/SCWK43256/content/_676233_1/Brown-Chapter%2012.pdf

Homan, M. S. (2011). Relating community change to professional practice. In Promoting community change; making it happen in the real world (5th ed., pp. 74-95). Retrieved from http://plato.bridgew.edu/@@F49E12DBEF01BFD8BF191A14480B79C0/courses/1/SCWK43256/content/_676228_1/Homan-Chapter%203.pdf

Take Back The Night Foundation. (2009). TBTN Foundation event guidebook. Retrieved from http://www.takebackthenight.org/TBTNEventGuidebook2009-12-14.pdf

Introduction

Hi my name is Christie. I am in my final semester as an undergraduate student at Bridgewater State University. My daily mantra is “I can do this”. Earning my degree is especially exciting to me because it is the one and only thing that I feel I sacrificed by starting my family so young. I have two sons, ages 22 and 21 and an 11 year old daughter. I was born and raised in Randolph Ma, where I stayed for most of my life up until a few years ago when I moved to Whitman Ma.

My first career was in retail management. In 1999 I worked for a very well-known company that manufactures sportswear. This store was run by a management team consisting of myself and four other staff member’s. We had meetings once a week and we would “rank our staff”. The philosophy behind this is that “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link”. So, as a team we would determine who was having the hardest time meeting expectations and then we would all make sure to invest a little more time coaching and encouraging her throughout the week. We could have sat there and complained about her poor performance, written her up, or even decided to let her go, but instead we took a more helpful approach. Everyone benefited from the extra support given to the neediest person. This is the philosophy that I stand by and lends itself very nicely to a career in social work.

Since 2001 I have been fortunate to have many excellent work experiences in social services. The majority of my work has been with homeless families as a housing advocate, family services coordinator, and support staff. This is where I came to appreciate the myriad of social problems clients may experience such as domestic violence, physical, emotional and sexual abuse, substance use, chronic poverty, physical and mental health concerns, illiteracy, discrimination, etc. If I could eradicate one major social problem it would be poverty because this is one common denominator amongst just about all of the world’s social problems.

I consider myself fortunate that the first social service organization I worked for was a community action agency and I say that because it was the ideal starting point in which to learn just how important it is to be involved in the community. I had the opportunity to engage in micro and macro practice. I worked one-on-one with individuals and families promoting and supporting their personal growth and overcoming barriers to their success while working with various social service agencies and professionals within the community to improve access to resources and collaborate to find ways to better serve clients. At one shelter we were able to empower resident’s to become involved in the legislative process by participating in a rally to end homelessness at the State House. This experience set the bar pretty high in terms of my expectations at the organizations I went on to become a part of. Social worker’s follow a person-in-environment approach so for me that means being engaged with both the person and their environment. I recommend that anyone who wants to be a social worker, work or volunteer in a community action program at some point in their lifetime, because communities and organizations can be powerful change agents.

This semester I am both excited and intimidated by my course load. I am taking micro, macro, research, field, and a speaking intensive class. I know that I am going to learn a lot! Although many people seem to really really dislike research I actually think I am going to enjoy it. I am excited for this course because I want to learn more about taking action and becoming involved and it looks like that is what we are going to be doing! I also think this online format is going to be interesting. I think the best classes are ones that allow for interaction among the students and the instructor. It is not helpful to be in a class in which the teacher reads directly from power point slides! A great class takes the material we are learning and applies it to real life situations.

If I could have one magic power it would, of course, involve a magic wand. I could wave my magic wand and the person that I wave it over could suddenly feel empowered. They would be filled with a strong sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy.  I find that so many clients have poor self-esteem and this is one of those things it’s difficult to build. My magic wand would make people shine from the inside out!

I always feel intimidated when asked to tell something interesting about myself, but here goes.  I love to read cheesy romance novels. I can read about a book a day. The cheesier the better! I also love to crochet, especially when my mother is visiting since she can be quite dramatic and overwhelming. (Please don’t tell her I said that.) Crocheting seems to have a soothing effect on my nerves. My favorite thing to crochet is baby blankets. I love home decorating and have been known to change the paint color throughout my house quite frequently. I love scrapbooking but never find the time to actually do it so I have boxes upon boxes of pictures, supplies, mementos and souvenirs just waiting to be “scrapbooked”. I have never traveled but one day I would like to travel all over the world, immersing myself in different cultures and new experiences. And as far as my dream job is concerned I already have it. I always wanted to be a Mother, first and foremost. The thing about that is you are essentially trying to work yourself out of a job!