Take Back the Night march in Guelph focuses on community support

Attendees will hear stories from guest speakers, plus there will be live performances and a self-defence workshop as the annual event raises awareness about sexual violence.

A march against gender-based violence is happening on Thursday in downtown Guelph.

Guelph Wellington Women in Crisis’s Take Back the Night aims to raise awareness and foster solidarity. Cindy McMann, public educator for the organization, said there will be a self-defence workshop, guest speakers and live performances, among other things.

She said she hopes the workshop can help make people more confident in themselves.

“When sexual violence happens to us, then that is a human rights violation, so we are hopeful that this will be a workshop that just allows us to raise our voices a little louder in terms of asserting our own rights,” McMann said.

In a news release, the organization said rates of sexual violence and gender-based violence are higher than they’ve been in decades.

McMann said most cases go unreported and there’s still a culture of silence for a majority of people. She said assaults tend to occur by someone who we care about and trust and not by a stranger.

She said people will often stay silent as a way of protecting themselves because they fear family or friends will turn on them, they won’t be believed or people will blame them for what happened.

McMann said the presence of other guest speakers at the rally and hearing their stories are really impactful because victims are reminded that they’re not alone and it’s not their fault.