‘Take Back the Night’ event in Kitchener marches against sexual violence

An annual march took place in downtown Kitchener to rally against sexual and gender-based violence. CTV's Jeff Pickel reports.

An annual march held in communities across the globe, took place in downtown Kitchener to rally against sexual and gender-based violence.

The 42nd Take Back the Night march filled the streets surrounding Gaukel Block on Thursday night.

Aside from the march, attendees were able to listen to speeches from organizers and survivors, watch a drag queen performance, visit community booths and partake in a bystander training session, which taught participants how to interject safely if they witnessed an incident of sexual or gender-based violence in public.

The Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) of Waterloo Region organized the event.

It’s an issue SASC volunteer coordinator Anna Najcler said was necessary to spotlight.

“We gather [and] we march in the streets past dark and we chant and we protest and let folks know that we won’t tolerate violence or misogyny or patriarchy,” said Najcler.

Isabella Sweeney, a presenter at Thursday’s event and a survivor said being seen and heard was critical to healing.

“There’s just so much that I’ve been through and I wanted to be a voice for other survivors who have gone through something similar,” she said.

She added survivors could use their pain to make something. For Sweeney, it was a poem she performed during the event, comparing a bear attack to sexual assault.

“If a bear attacked me, it’d be more likely for authorities to do something about it than if a man attacked me. I feel like that was probably my strongest point,” said Sweeney.

Marches against sexual and gender-based violence can be dated back to the 1970s and 1980s. According to the official Take Home the Night website, the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centers declared the third Friday in September the evening for Take Back the Night marches across the country.

Najcler said despite the event’s history, the work isn’t done.

“I think there’s a lot of shame and stigma still around sexual violence and it’s overlooked in our community,” she said.