The 11th annual Take Back the Night at Vanderbilt program, an event designed to “give voice to individuals and advocate for social chance to end violence,” will begin at 6 p.m. tonight in Benton Chapel.

 

The event is open to the public and will feature a resource fair in the chapel from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a speech from Dr. Dorothy Edwards, director of the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center at the University of Kentucky. According to event’s Facebook page, Edwards will speak about “power-based personal violence and the steps each of us can take to create a safer campus for everyone.” The Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center is organizing the event.

 

According to the Web site for the publicly funded charity, the concept of Take Back the Night began with a series of international rallies in the 1970s, and an international headquarters was created in 2001 with the mission of ending sexual violence in all forms and lending support to survivors. The organization encourages women who have been abused to speak out and make their story heard for the benefit of others. Take Back the Night also offers opportunities and advice for local groups seeking to organize their own Take Back the Night rallies and events.