Lindsey Lerman is not a victim. She is a survivor. She is also a single representative of the 1-in-5 American women who will experience rape in their lifetime, and she is taking back her night.

Take Back the Night was the first time Lerman was able to share her story.

“(This) is where I first stood up and said ‘I am not a victim, I am a survivor,’” she said.

Take Back the Night is an annual international event held in different places at different times across the world, said Janet Epstein, director of the Advocacy Center.

“(The event) is an opportunity to bring people together to acknowledge that sexual and relationship violence are issues that affect everyone, and that everyone can have a role in preventing (these issues) and in supporting those who have been impacted,” Epstein said.

This year’s event was held Wednesday at Hendricks Chapel, beginning at 7 p.m. with a rally that branched out into a march across campus and ended with an open-mic speak-out at the chapel for survivors of sexual violence.

In 2002, Epstein said the event had a turnout of about 60 people. Now, Epstein said between 1,200-1,500 community members attend.

“When people learn about these issues and they can come together, they can really make change,” Epstein said. “Sometimes, we feel like ‘It’s just me,’ but if each person does that, it’s not just them. It’s this whole group that can really have some influence.”

Lerman, the student who shared her story, is a junior in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the greek life specialist for the Advocacy Center. But when she took the microphone Wednesday night, that’s not how she introduced herself.

She introduced herself to the audience as a survivor of rape and child sex abuse.

“I have spent the majority of my life living in the shadow of what has happened to me,” she said.

Lerman told the audience that because she was able to share her story at Take Back the Night, she is no longer alone with her grief and pain. She said even though she may never tell her story in court, the story won’t die with her.

“Take Back The Night is how we end the violence, how we break our silence and how we come together as a community,” Lerman said. “I am not the first person to grow up being abused. I am not the first person to be raped, but I would love to be the last.”

Participants left the chapel and began to march as student-leaders started to chant, “Syracuse unite, take back the night.” A slow but steady clapping started in the middle of the audience, and one by one, the crowd joined in.

Lerman led the marchers outside while she waved a sign reading, “Yes means yes, no means no, whatever we wear, wherever we go,” shouting its message so quickly that she frequently needed to stop for air.

The group marched toward Marshall Street and looped back around by E.S. Bird Library. By 8 p.m., the distant sound of voices echoed across campus again as the marchers made their way back to Hendricks.

“No abuse in the ‘Cuse,” they chanted, waving signs demanding a connection between consent and contact. They shouted that they were taking back their night.

Vasavi Kanneganti, a senior psychology major and member of the event committee, said Take Back The Night is a response to the idea of taking safety precautions when going out at night. She said it’s a rally to take back the night that people have previously been taught to fear.

“(We’re) saying that we should be able to go out when we want. We should be able to dress however we want, because we’re not responsible for violence,” Kanneganti said. “The only people responsible for that are the people who actually commit it.”

Other students expressed the same will to fight for the empowerment of the individual against sexual violence. There are multiple groups that organize Take Back The Night in affiliation with the Advocacy Center.

Kanneganti said the event is one night when people gather for this cause, even though facing the reality of the violence can be uncomfortable.

At the end of the night, the doors to Hendricks closed and a safe environment was created for those affected by sexual violence to rise from the crowd and share their stories.

“You see people that you’re in classes with and you’re like ‘Wow, I had no idea that you’ve experienced something so rough,’” Kanneganti said. “I think there’s something special in that moment, that anyone from any background can go up there and feel safe.”

A similar community of support can be found at the Clean Slate Diaries, an event created by the keynote speaker for the rally, Renee DeVesty. The Clean Slate Diaries is an annual event DeVesty created to support survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence, and help them reclaim the lives they feel were taken from them by their abusers.

At the event, DeVesty spoke of her own history as a survivor of rape, relationship abuse and alcoholism. In addition, she spoke about realizing her goal of becoming a visible role model of hope for survivors.

She said 1-in-5 women will experience rape in their lifetime, which translates to almost 22 million women in the United States. These numbers reach epidemic proportions, she said, and along with the lasting damage of sexual violence, they are often overlooked.

DeVesty said she lost 20 years of her life when she was raped in college. She stressed it’s not only the act of violence itself that must be overcome. Drug addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder and thoughts of suicide might haunt survivors years after the initial crime.

When passion and power combine, she said, supporters become advocates, and each individual’s support contributes to the strength of the collective voice.

“We have more power united in solidarity,” DeVesty said. “Don’t tell me one person can’t start a revolution, because we just did.”

Published on April 11, 2013 at 1:29 am