Ithaca Advocacy Center – A Point of Light
The Ithaca Commons were overtaken on April 29. A swarm of survivors, advocates and friends converged in the center of Ithaca, armed with neon yellow shirts to make their presence known in spite of the setting sun. Marking the end of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Ithaca Advocacy Center hosted what was probably its thirty-first Take Back the Night march and rally.
Heather Campbell, program director at the Ithaca Advocacy Center said, “We know that the first Take Back the Night in U.S. history happened in 1978, and through the history of tee shirts we can trace it back to 1979 in Ithaca.”
The event began around 7:00 p.m., when marchers who began at Ithaca College, Cornell University and Greater Ithaca Activity Center made their way for the oft-overlooked pavilion in the center of the Commons. Marchers carried signs proclaiming their reclamation of the night, and chanting one of the official Take Back the Night (TBTN) rallying calls, “We have the power/We have the right/The streets are ours/Take back the night.”
After all of the groups arrived, the evening’s speakers and performers began. First was Mayor Carolyn Peterson, who wore her peace sign-covered tee shirt and proof that TBTN has been a force in Ithaca since 1979.
Other groups present included the Ithaca Police Department. Undersheriff Richard Tubbs spoke on how the police handle charges of sexual assault, and dispelled some deterring myths about victims who chose to report the crimes committed against them. “We just don’t see false reports of rape. Women who come to us are believed.”
The Tompkins County Advocacy Center’s work goes far beyond awareness events like Take Back the Night. As the center’s programs director, Campbell also conducts training with the local police, therapists and daycare providers on treatment of victims of sexual abuse.
Patty Tvaroha, adult community educator for the Advocacy Center said, “The advocacy we provide is most important. We help survivors identify and get what they need, whether its safe housing, medical care or just talking to someone.”
A group of organizations called the Take Back the Night Collective forms yearly in January to begin planning for the event. This year’s collective included the Ithaca College Feminist Majority, the Cornell Women’s Resource Center, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes and the Tompkins County Advocacy Center.
Take Back the Night became a publicly funded, officially recognized organization in 2001. Since then, according to Campbell, they have been working to make these sexual assault awareness rallies into national events by lending support at the grassroots level. One such method is naming ten different rally locations across the country to be the Ten Points of Light.
“It was an honor to be recognized for all the work we’ve been doing, and coming from a family with a history of violence, it means a lot to be one of the Ten Points of Light,” said Tvaroha.
Ithaca was selected as one of the Ten Points of Light after Tvaroha attended a national conference and presented the Advocacy Center’s efforts in Tompkins County to leaders of the foundation. Other locations that served as Points of Light were Brown University, Rutgers University and the University of Texas at El Paso.
“Ithaca is a college town, so we direct a lot of our resources to college students. We know that girls ages 16-24 are at an increased risk to experience sexual abuse, and this risk increases if a girl is in her first semester of college, so in terms of intervening in and preventing abuse, much of our attention is directed there,” said Campbell.
The event continued with a speak-out session, which provides survivors with a chance to share their stories. One such speaker was Beth, whose story of breaking and entering, abuse and guilt ended with an urge to her listeners to, “step up and do the right thing – everybody knows what that is.”
Campbell said of the speak-out sessions, “People come to the event who didn’t plan to tell their stories, but the speak-outs can trigger powerful emotions. That’s why we have advocates standing by to talk to people at every event, and we definitely talked to people that night.”
One Ithaca College student, who said that she made no intention of coming forward, was the penultimate speaker during the speak-outs. She told the story of her attack, her recovery and how she regained her ability to trust others and herself again.
A Cornell University student who chose to not share his name during the speak-out was the first man and the last person to tell his story. He spoke of his sister, whose cultural values and family expectations, keep her trapped in an abusive marriage. He ended his relation with an appeal for help from the crowd, as he had run out of solutions.
Sierra Shorey, a student and a member of Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER), has participated in Take Back the Night and similar awareness events since she began attending school in Ithaca. “SAFER and Take Back the Night are a way for me to deal with my own stuff, and to help others who have been in similar situations. It’s hard to feel alone at places like this.”
Campbell added, “People who came to Take Back the Night are moved by the number of purple armbands and the number of allies. It creates the feeling that we’re not alone. I think that it’s incredibly powerful because the experiences of sexual and domestic violence are isolating, silencing and shameful.”
At Take Back the Night events, participants can choose to identify as survivors of abuse by wearing purple armbands. Allies and supporters can do so with blue armbands.
Campbell said, “We create such an important space for survivors and allies. My hope is that we can continue to provide that space.
But as Tvaroha said, “Funding for the Advocacy Center is always in jeopardy,” as it relies on public funding, money earned through fund-raisers and private donations to continue its services.
Reflecting on this year’s event, Campbell said, “We’re always looking to try to make it go smoother and to increase our outreach. But from this year’s Take Back the Night, I really got the feeling that we’re connected as a community and that’s strong. And I must say, we were also really lucky with the weather.”
Ithaca’s Take Back the Night, in sync with the nine other Points of Light, began its candlelit vigil at 9:00 p.m. Advocacy Center and TBTN staff passed candles through the crowd who had been listening to the speak-outs. As the sun went down, a circle that enveloped the entire center of the Commons formed, and the candles were lit.
During the vigil, Premium Blend, Ithaca College’s female a cappella group, sang a selection of comforting hymns without denomination, which added to the already emotionally charged evening.
Tvaroha said, “I was okay until the vigil started, but then I lost it.”
She then ended the event by urging attendees of the event and vigil to, “move forward, and become a candle against the darkness of violence and abuse.”
