Take Back the Night draws attention to sexual violence

The shouts echoed off the buildings, carrying down Jefferson Street downtown.

More than 50 people carried signs and shouted slogans as they walked from Franklin College’s campus. They were loud and conspicuous because they wanted people to notice.

In the fight against sexual violence, nothing will get done by staying silent.

“This is not a quiet march. This is an angry march,” said Annie Kruse, a counselor at Franklin College.

The annual Take Back the Night event roared into Franklin Thursday, shining a spotlight on sexual assault and the resources and support available in our community. Starting with a rally on Franklin College’s campus, then continuing with a march to the county courthouse and ending with a cathartic “shout out,” the event was an opportunity to bring attention to an injustice in society that too often is pushed into the shadows.

“I can say one thing — there is hope. Hope is something I never thought I’d experience. I tried hard to ignore the grief of losing who I was before this brutal attack, and tried to go over, under and around the emotions,” said Michelle Corrao, an advocate for victims of violent crime and survivor herself, who was the keynote speaker for the event. “What I learned is you have to go right through it.”

Take Back the Night is an international campaign aimed at ending sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual abuse and all other forms of sexual violence. This was the fifth such event conducted in Franklin.

Locally, the gathering was organized by Franklin College, ASSIST Indiana and Turning Point Domestic Violence Services. On a warm, sunny afternoon on the college’s campus, representatives from all three groups came together with students, staff and community members to speak out against violence.

“My reality is that my life changed forever that day, but that day does not define who I am,” said Maddie Cary, a Franklin College freshman and survivor of sexual assault. “It is our responsibility to empower each other to heal, and I encourage you today to know and understand that there is nothing in this world you cannot overcome.”

Cary shared her own experience, speaking candidly about her assault and how it impacted her.

“It was like my world came crashing down,” she said. “I will spare you the details of how scary he looked, how horrible his hands felt, and even the details of how much I fought. I’ll save those memories for my details. I may have walked into that house a broken girl, but I escaped shattered and completely lost.”

She struggled for years to grasp what had happened to her. To help others impacted by sexual violence, Cary formed an organization at her high school — H.O.P.E., or Heal, Overcome, Persevere, Empower. She has brought the group to Franklin College, as well.

“When I was a sophomore in high school, I remember walking the hallways and thinking that I never wanted anyone to feel the way I did. I wanted to help people to know they weren’t alone,” she said.

Cary’s experience led into an account by Take Back the Night’s featured speaker, Michelle Corrao. The Fort Wayne resident was sexually assaulted in 1996.

In horrifying detail, she went through the night that changed her life. She recounted the brutal attack at the hands of three men, how a chance appearance by a police officer that night saved her, and going through the agonizing seven-hour process of having evidence collected from her body.

“The next morning, I got into the car to go home, and there were two things I thought on that drive. I looked out the window and wondered what others were going through on that day,” she said. “And then I wondered how in the world am I ever going to get through this? Hope was not within my reach, nor was happiness.”

Corrao struggled for several years, “dark and unbearable,” as she described them. But what pushed her forward was a desire to help others who have experienced the same violence she did.

For the last 23 years, she has worked in victim services. In her current role as executive director at The O’Connor House in Carmel, she leads programs that provide women who are single, pregnant and homeless with safe housing and opportunities to improve life for themselves and their children.

“I stand here to honor and be the voice of those who are voiceless, to share what I felt,” she said.

With Corrao’s words fresh in their ears, Take Back the Night participants left campus to march to downtown Franklin. They loudly shouted chants such as, “However we dress, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no!” and “Shatter the silence, stop the violence!”

Many people held signs made for the event, holding them up as cars passed by. Often, they were greeted with honks and cheers of support from passersby.

At the county courthouse, the group gathered to learn about sexual violence resources and ate food donated by The Willard, Greek’s Pizzeria, Norma Jean’s Pastries and Sweetly Made.

After marching back to campus, the group took part in the final activity of the event — the “speak out,” which gave survivors and supporters an opportunity to share experiences, feelings, prepared creative expressions and encouragement.

“We were glad to have a nice day, which brought out quite a bit of foot traffic downtown Franklin and allowed us to increase awareness of the Take Back the Night and what it stands for during our march,” said Sara Kinder, director of counseling at Franklin College. “This event always brings out a sense of community around such an important topic for me and it was surely present yesterday.”