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Tess Catalano assessment of Take Back the Night event, 1982
Assessment of Take Back The Night Page 1
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[handwritten] #1 CATALANO DON'T KEEP A: Take Back the Night should be for women only B: Take Back the Night should be for both men and women. Due to the different experiences of men and women in our culture, the ways in which men and women cope with sexual violence are different. Sexual violence is sexism at its most extreme. Before men and women can come together to talk about how sexual violence affects them. we must first examin our experiences separately as women, and as men. Thus events such as Take Back the Night, which attempt to provide a place for the sharing of women's experiences as victims of sexual violence, should be open only to women, to insure the greatest safety for women as they "speak out" about their feelings and experiences. The mistake is often made that Take Back the Night is an educational event which will provide information about violence against women. If this were the case, it would be reasonable to open the event to both men and women in an effort to inform as many people as possible. Take Back the NIght is not educational. It is an opportunity for women to come together and share their experiences and feelings as victims or possible victims of sexual violence. It i a time for women to feel a connection and a commonality with other women and to feel safe in a place that is usually not safe for them. By calling the information given by a woman as she speaks out "educational" trivializes her experiences and uses it in a way that is out of her control. Often a woman's "experience" is negated or denied by a culture that refuses to believe rape victims, or won't admit to the growing amount of spouse abuse. At Take Back the Night
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[handwritten] #1 CATALANO DON'T KEEP A: Take Back the Night should be for women only B: Take Back the Night should be for both men and women. Due to the different experiences of men and women in our culture, the ways in which men and women cope with sexual violence are different. Sexual violence is sexism at its most extreme. Before men and women can come together to talk about how sexual violence affects them. we must first examin our experiences separately as women, and as men. Thus events such as Take Back the Night, which attempt to provide a place for the sharing of women's experiences as victims of sexual violence, should be open only to women, to insure the greatest safety for women as they "speak out" about their feelings and experiences. The mistake is often made that Take Back the Night is an educational event which will provide information about violence against women. If this were the case, it would be reasonable to open the event to both men and women in an effort to inform as many people as possible. Take Back the NIght is not educational. It is an opportunity for women to come together and share their experiences and feelings as victims or possible victims of sexual violence. It i a time for women to feel a connection and a commonality with other women and to feel safe in a place that is usually not safe for them. By calling the information given by a woman as she speaks out "educational" trivializes her experiences and uses it in a way that is out of her control. Often a woman's "experience" is negated or denied by a culture that refuses to believe rape victims, or won't admit to the growing amount of spouse abuse. At Take Back the Night
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