UConn Community Rallies to Fight Sexual Violence

By Michelle Jarvis

Caely Flynn attended her first rally two years ago at the University of Connecticut and is now the coordinator of a purposeful mob that strides through campus annually, carrying signs and chanting.
This is not a celebratory mass reacting to the latest athletic victory; this is Take Back the Night.
What began as a personal whim for Flynn has transformed into a cause. “I can say with total confidence that Take Back the Night absolutely spearheaded my feminist activism. It has been such a major part of my time here at UConn,” Flynn explained.
Every spring, hundreds of students and faculty, men and women, take to the streets to Take Back the Night. Last year alone there was an estimated 300 participants, according to Kerri Brown, student and University of Connecticut Women’s Center employee.
The candlelight march is in conjunction with the annual, nationwide event to raise awareness about violence against women. While the march is about this larger problem, the personal stories of survivors are really what touched Flynn.
“I saw four of my friends go up on that stage and tell their story. I had no idea. I couldn’t believe I didn’t see anything beneath the surface that would let me know what happened to them,” said Flynn.
The magnitude of the problem hit home even more the following year when Flynn saw even more of her friends stand up and tell about living as survivors of violence.
The proof of the dimension of the problem is in the numbers: one in four women will be the victim of assault or attempted assault by the time she graduates college, according to the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
According to the TBTN foundation, the first Take back the night occurred in association with the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women which took place in Brussels in 1976. The tribunal was attended by over 2,000 women from 40 countries. A candlelight procession occurred after, sparking the annual gathering of survivors, friends, and activists.
At UConn, the event is coordinated by the Violence Against Women Prevention Program. The activist organization, which is run through the Women’s Center, seeks to prevent “all forms of sexual violence through education, outreach, and advocacy,” according to its website.
The march, which in 2010 was scheduled for April 21st, attracts a crowd of friends and strangers. However as Flynn explains, “That stranger and myself are no longer strangers because we have that shared experience. Having that solidarity with individuals who are willing to recognize sexual assault as a huge issue is very moving.”
One of Flynn’s friends who had never attended, planned on going this year in part due to Flynn’s enthusiasm for the cause. “I had wanted to go last year but just needed that extra push. You can’t not be influenced by Caely, she’s such a positive influence,” said Natalie Bajorin, a UConn student.
Flynn encourages everyone to attend the event, men and women. “Sexual assault greatly hurts men too…who wants to be perceived as a threat?” said Flynn.
Matthew Pellowski, a student and a feminist, planned to attend because “I see rape as a form of oppression, every time a male commits that heinous crime, he also serves to instill fear in women everywhere in their own communities.”
However, those closest to Take Back the Night realize that work still needs to be done. “We have made great strides,” says the TBTN foundation, “but our march is far from over.”