Take Back the Night (TBTN)
Communities Unite
“This incarnation of Take Back the Night was started in 2011 by staff and clients of an outpatient rehabilitation services clinic in South Philly. All members of the original organizing committee identified as survivors of violence as well as people in recovery from chaotic substance dependence. At the time the original organizing committee was discussing the lack of support and visibility for survivors who were “regular people just living our lives”. One of our group members had participated in other Take Back the Night events in the past and another commented, “if they do this on college campuses then we can do it for us too, we can do it here” – ACN, original member & current organizer.
Some of our mission goals and commitments include creating access to survivor resources and actions which extend beyond the reach of most college & university campus events and are more diverse and intentionally political—because fighting, resisting and unpacking Rape Culture is political and because we believe the only way to fully confront and end Rape Culture is by being truly inclusive and intersectional. It is important to us that this is a diverse, survivor- led event that supports access to healing and changing the narrative of our society’s victim blaming culture.
Over the last 15 years we have built a wide reaching coalition of collectives, organizations and nonprofits who all come together to volunteer their time and effort to share their stories, support survivors, increase access to resources and build community. None of our organizers or our coalition members are paid – this is a fully grass roots, community led event. We use various mediums of expression to reduce the stigma of talking about violence and being a survivor of violence including art, writing, dancing, testimonials/story sharing and resource access. We have never affiliated with Take Back the Night, National for various reasons and we have no other affiliations outside of who is listed on our website.”.
Note: The above descriptive information came from the organization's home page.
Info
- Photos: Gallery
- X: @TBTNFoundation
See Also
- Article: 7th Annual Take Back the Night