Stand Up – Step In – Speak Out

Take Back the Night is an annual event in downtown Portland to promote awareness of sexual violence. It is an opportunity to speak out against all forms of sexualized violence in our community. The goals of this event are to:

• Provide an environment of support and healing wherein survivors are empowered to express their experiences.
• Raise awareness of the ways sexualized violence perpetuates sexism, racism, classism, and other types of oppression.
• Build a network of individuals committed to creating a community free from sexualized violence.

Events

• All day there will be a visual display in Monument Square with art and other informational displays. The visual display will also have bystander pledges.
• The Rally begins at 6 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Congress Street with speakers, followed by performances from singers and poets.
• After the Rally, at 7:15 p.m. there is a march through the streets of downtown Portland. Marching with posters and chanting is our way to tell the community that we’re not going to take sexual violence anymore and to take back the night.
• After the march, there will be a Speak Out. This is an opportunity for the public to speak about the impacts of sexual violence in their lives. Speak Out beings at approximately 7:45 p.m.

We recognize that sexualized violence is perpetrated against individuals regardless of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, ethnicity or appearance. Sexualized violence is primarily committed by men against women, but we also affirm the reality that some men are survivors, some women are perpetrators, and there is violence in LGBT relationships.

Funding provided in part by a grant from Maine Initiatives