Take Back The Night 2007 DuPage County

 
Our Sponsoring Groups

History of Take Back The Night

Take Back the Night is an international tradition with marches and rallies occurring around the world since 1976. That year, in Belgium, women attending the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women marched together in solidarity, holding candles to protest the ways in which violence permeates the lives of women worldwide.  In 1978, the anti-rape movement joined together thousands of women in San Francisco to "Take Back The Night" from violence against women.  Since then, similar events featuring a speakout of survivors of abuse and a march to raise awareness have taken place in cities across the country.  By marching in unity on this night, we extract rape, battery, incest and sexual harassment from the home and workplace to the street, making this "private" issue a public one. 

Locally, the first DuPage Take Back The Night in 1993 was organized by the YWCA and the DuPage County chapter of the National Organization for Women.  It is estimated that one in four women are sexually assaulted in their lifetimes.  Domestic violence is the second most commonly reported crime in Dupage County, with between 300 and 350 incidents of domestic violence estimated to occur each month.   We felt a real need for this event, especially in view of the fact that almost all female homicides in DuPage County are committed by an ex-husband or boyfriend.

Support Take Back The Night
TBTN is an all-volunteer non-profit event.  We rely on the efforts of committed activists and the contributions of individuals and groups to organize this event to raise awareness about and stop rape and other forms of sexual and domestic violence.  Currently our planning meetings are mainly held the first Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at the YWCA at 739 Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn.   Please join us if you'd like to help.  If you could help by putting up a few flyers (at stores, your place of worship, library, etc.) we can email you a flyer to print.

We would like to thank First Congregational Church and Wesley Methodist Church in Naperville for lending us tables and chairs for our event.  Other past sponsors have included Whole Foods Market, Frito-Lay, West Suburban Dental Hygiene Society, and the Jaycees.  Any other person or business willing to provide support for the event, please let us know.  Your financial contributions can be tax-deductible.  For more information on how to become a sponsor, or volunteer to help at the event, please call Colleen at (630) 532-1222 or Kathy at (630) 416-1068. 
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the Family Shelter Service Hotline, (630) 469-5650. 

Last updated May 3, 2007                     .       Return to TBTN main page

American Association of University Women, Naperville

Breaking Free

College of DuPage

DuPage County National Organization for Women

Family Shelter Service

Teen Parent Connection

Hamdard Center for Health & Human Services

Naperville Police Department

YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, West Suburban Center

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