In 1987, Guelph residents participated in the city’s first Take Back the Night event. It was a
public display of support for survivors of sexual assault/violence and intimate-partner violence. Thirty one years later, the Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis Centre (G-W Women) is
preparing to show their continued support for survivors with Guelph’s annual Take Back the Night march and rally.
Survivors, allies and community organizers will be meeting on September 27, 2018 at 6 p.m. in Marianne’s Park and marching past downtown businesses as well as prominent landmarks,
including the Church of our Lady and St. George’s Square. “This event is intended to be an evening of empowerment, connection and community unity for better support for survivors…” said a G-W Women representative in an email.
Guelph’s march and rally can attract between fifty to two hundred participants. It is primarily
organized by G-W Women in conjunction with volunteers, a variety of community partners and student groups. This event also relies on funding from the City of Guelph.
Take Back the Night started in the 1970s. In 1975, Susan Alexander Speeth, a young
microbiologist, was stabbed to death while walking home alone at night.[1] A march and rally was organized in Philadelphia to show solidarity for her as well as all women who are victims of
violence.[2] In 1976, two thousand women represented forty countries at another Take Back the Night march hosted in Brussels, Belgium at the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women.[3] The infamous “Yorkshire Ripper” Peter Sutcliffe was additionally raping and attacking prostitutes at night during this time.[4] English police advised against women going out at night and in 1977, a Reclaim the Night event was organized in Leeds to protest this violence, the
police’s reaction to it and to challenge the societal assumption that women risk being attacked if they go out at night.[5]
Take Back the Night has grown into an international movement. It is vital to continue to organize events such as this one to provide survivors of sexual assault/violence and intimate-partner
violence with a safe space to share their experiences and support one another.
The Canadian Women’s Foundation estimates that two in three Canadians do not comprehend the meaning of giving consent in sexual situations and that “…82 per cent of those under age 18 who experience sexual assault…are girls.”[6] They additionally note that “…67 per cent of
Canadians know a woman who has experienced physical or sexual abuse” and “Indigenous women are killed at six times the rate of non-Indigenous women.”[7] It’s not any better in the
United States. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) estimates that an
American experiences sexual assault every 98 seconds.[8]
Take Back the Night events are essential. They are powerful. They have the potential to help countless communities fight back against the toxic societal beliefs that perpetuate rape culture and violence against women.
Guelph’s Take Back the Night event will have active listeners onsite, and additional help is available by calling the G-W Women 24 hour crisis line at (519) 836-5710, or toll free at
1 800-265-7233. Those interested in volunteering, requesting accessibility supports or more information can email Jessica at wiceducation@gwwomenincrisis.org.
GW-Women encourage walking, bikes, pets, skates, signs, banners and noise makers at this event. They consider it to be an opportunity to “…come together, support each other, make
connections, chat, rally and dance together to shake up the streets and reclaim our minds,
ourselves and our streets.”
[1] http://sacha.ca/events/take-back-the-night/history
[2] http://sacha.ca/events/take-back-the-night/history
[3] http://sacha.ca/events/take-back-the-night/history
[4] http://sacha.ca/events/take-back-the-night/history
[5] http://sacha.ca/events/take-back-the-night/history
[6] https://www.canadianwomen.org/the-facts/sexual-assault-harassment/
[7] https://www.canadianwomen.org/the-facts/gender-based-violence/
[8] https://www.rainn.org/statistics
image sources: Take Back the Night poster: http://takebackthenightguelph.blogspot.com/ ; girl with sparkler: Photo by Brynden on Unsplash