“Late one night when I was in my first year at Carleton University, I was walking to my car after class . . . There, I was raped by three men. There, I said it.”
Dillon Black, an anti-violence activist at the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, shared their story Oct. 8 with the crowd of more than 100 people who gathered in Minto Park to rally for the 36th annual Take Back the Night march.
“I always have a hard time telling my story. It shouldn’t take any more sexual assaults or rapes for people to listen, to become engaged, and to do something about it. But, I do know deep down in my heart there is something so powerful and energizing when survivors come forward and share their stories of resilience, reclamation, and survival,” Black said.
Take Back the Night marches began in the U.S. in the 1970s, after an increasing number of violent acts against women, specifically at nighttime.
Since then, it has developed into an international movement with the purpose of recognizing that women deserve safety in all spaces.
Although the turnout at this year’s Ottawa march was slightly lower than in past years, the crowd was mighty, braving cold and rainy weather.
Julie Lalonde and her organization Hollaback! Ottawa were present in full force.
“It’s really important for us to be here, to show solidarity to women, and to recognize that yeah, we don’t feel safe in public space, and no, that’s not okay,” Lalonde said.
“It’s symbolic that we march in the evening as women, but it’s more about the broader conversation that there isn’t a single space in this world where women can feel safe from violence,” she said.
Whether men are present during these marches depends on the community, Lalonde said.
In some communities, men are not allowed to march at all. In others they are allowed to march only on the sidewalks, or at the back of the group.
In Ottawa, the consensus has generally been that men are free to march, but are asked to allow the voices of women to be primarily heard.
Holly Smith and Atherina David are two local high school students who came out for the march representing the Purple Sister’s Youth Advisory Committee, a committee for young people with a focus on women’s rights.
“Women’s rights have always been really important to me. The stereotypes that women go through, and violence against women, and all these injustices, they get me angry, but there’s so much that I want to do about it,” David said.
Lalonde said she wants people to turn their anger and empowerment from the evening into real world action.
“The City of Ottawa has a role to play in ending violence against women. It’s really important to remind people that this is three weeks before the election—what are the candidates in your ward going to do about ending violence?” Lalonde said. “This is very, very relevant to the lives we live.”
