Take back the night

Activism

Since 1978 women in Ottawa have marched together to raise awareness about violence against women at the Take Back the Night march.

The march, organized by and for self-identified women, is a statement of women’s strength and solidarity and a protest against sexual violence on the streets, in homes and in every town and city around the world.

Although the march is symbolic, the reality is harsh — 51 percent of women in Canada have been sexually assaulted and 86 percent of assaults occur in a woman’s home.

Sexual assaults occur every day but only an estimated six percent are reported to the police. A disproportionate number of sexual assaults are perpetrated against women — this fact fuels the by-women, for-women approach to Take Back the Night.

The message behind Take Back the Night is that it should be a safe place for all women to protest together, and on Thursday night, Sep 24, it was — over 500 women marched the streets of Ottawa in solidarity.


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