SOS, Inc. will host Emporia’s annual Take Back the Night event on April 24 in partnership with Emporia State’s THRIVE Program. Take Back the Night is an event protesting and bringing awareness to sexual assault and the lack of safety women face at night. The event is free to the public and will start at 5:15 p.m. with a walk and “Speak Out” and then segue into a presentation from Whistleblower author Susan Fowler at 6 p.m. 

Emporia holds its Take Back the Night event every April, but Take Back the Night events happen year-round all over the world. The event began in the 1970s in Belgium, Germany.

“It started back in the 70s,” explained SOS Sexual Assault Advocate Coordinator Rachell Freeman. “First, it started with women. Women were walking at night, and they were being sexually assaulted, murdered or harassed – all of the things. And so it kind of evolved into like, ‘Hey, I need to be able to walk at night and not be scared.’ Because we kind of know how that (still) is nowadays where we walk with keys between our hands and stuff like that. So back then, they started this march, this protest… coming together being like, ‘We’re going to take back the night.’”

The event will kick off outside of Plumb Hall with Diane Moore, a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) at Newman Regional Health who will be talking about the SANE program. Afterward, protest signs will be passed out for the walk to Beach Hall where the “Speak Out” will occur.

“Speak Out gives the opportunity for anyone to talk about any experiences they have with sexual violence, whether that be the victim itself, family of the victim, or just people in the community that want to share their support,” said Freeman. “It gives the people an opportunity to feel like they have a community and have a safe place to share their experiences.”

After the Speak Out, the event will move inside to Heath Recital Hall for a presentation by Susan Fowler, author of the book Whistleblower. The book details her experience with sexual assault and retaliation working at Uber and the aftermath of her riveting blog post that is credited with sparking the #MeToo movement around the world. Fowler will discuss these experiences in her presentation and then open up for questions.

Following the Q&A, there will be a book signing, and attendees can buy a copy of Whistleblower for a special price of $15.50 through Middle Ground Books.

Freeman spoke on the importance of the Take Back the Night movement and sexual assault awareness.

 “Just because maybe you haven’t experienced sexual assault directly yourself does not mean that you won’t know somebody, or you don’t know somebody (who has been). Because the odds are that everyone will come in contact with somebody that has been sexually assaulted,” she said.

SOS, Inc. is a nonprofit for victims and survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, stalking and child abuse and neglect. Those needing services can call the 24/7 helpline at 1-800-825-1295 or text “SOSKS” to 847411.

Editor’s note: This story was published in The Bulletin’s April 24 print issue prior to the event.