FYS: Storytelling, Identity, and Social Change - Take Back the Night [tekst, tłumaczenie i interpretacja piosenki]

Take Back the Night was founded in 1999 by Katie Koestner. She was the first woman to speak out publicly and nationally about date rape. The reasoning behind founding Take Back the Night was to help put an end to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and sexual abuse. TBTN hopes to create comfortable communities and relationships and raise awareness. They hope to allow women to find their voice and be a beacon of hope in what can be a really dark place.

Although the foundation hadn’t been created yet, the very first Take Back the Night-esque event in the US was in 1975 in Philadelphia, PA. The citizens of the city came together after a young scientist was found stabbed to death by a complete stranger a block away from her house. The first international TBTN event was at the International Tribunal on Crimes against Women in 1976 in Brussels. Over 2000 women from 40 different countries attended. This led to other events all over Europe including cities like Rome to West Germany. They were called “Reclaim the Night.” That year around 16,000 women reported being raped in Rome alone. Soon Reclaim the Night ceremonies were happening all over the world from 1976 to 1981. For the next 35 years TBTN has focused on eliminating sexual violence of all kinds in the United States.

One way to help raise awareness and put an end to sexual violence is to take the Pledge. It is extremely powerful and once you have signed you are put on the list of TBTN Pledges. The goal of the pledge is to create a coalition of women, either those who have been affected or haven’t, who are dedicated to speaking out against all types of sexual violence.

Take Back the Night tries to empower its survivors to seek justice for their crimes. They encourage people to take legal action and in doing so find some closure for what has happened to them. They have a national law firm that is ready to stand by victims and help them figure out the best course of action. A lot of the times it is too difficult to take legal action and girls will not want to go through that process. That is where their storytelling project comes in. They have found that the most effective way to help victims heal is by sharing stories with each other. And that is the foundation of TBTN: storytelling.

“Shatter The Silence Through Storytelling” is the headline. The stories that are posted online vary in types and levels of sexual assault. People are from all over the country and the world: California, Kansas, New York, Australia, Indiana, Minnesota, Virginia, Belgium, South Korea, and Canada. They are of all ages, 15, 26, 24, 18, 13. But most importantly they encourage people to tell their own stories. What they have in common is sharing their experience. This is the heart of Take Back the Night.

One 15 year old wrote that she had been hanging out with a new friend, she thought she knew who he was, that he just wanted to be friends. They were hanging out in the woods and he tried to kiss her and take her clothes off. He had been hitting her. She managed to run away and never saw him again. Another wrote that one night she had been drinking and her best friend took advantage of her and raped her. She had trusted him and loved him and even then he could hurt her. There are hundred of more stories similar and completely different to these two. All these women have had their trust broken, their bodies violated, and the way they see the world completely changed. Take Back the Night gives them an outlet to express how they feel and to hopefully empower other women like them to speak out as well.

“Writing is my method of survival now. Without my words and my thoughts, I would be lost." This is the message that Take Back the Night is trying to send. The sharing of experiences shows these women that they are not alone. And to work together can help to end sexual violence.