Take Back the Night / TBTN // Take Back the Night is an annual event held in many cities around the world. Women and men are often afraid to walk alone at night because of the fear of violence. Victim-survivors are often blamed for making "bad choices." Many more people are attacked within their own homes. TBTN is a powerful event where the community can march together in solidarity, enjoy music, listen to moving speakers, and create a safe space for victim-survivors to share their stories, often for the first time. April 2009 will mark the 12th annual TBTN event in Minneapolis organized by MPIRG.
Take Back the Night 2009
Friday, April 24
6 - 10 p.m.
Minnesota State Capitol
Schedule:
March in Downtown St. Paul - 6:30 p.m.
Candlelight Vigil and Speak Out - 8 p.m.
Keynote Speakers: Senator Sandy Pappas, Patricia Weaver Francisco, and Kelly Lewis
Bands: No Bird Sing, Sleeper and the Sleepless
Presented by MPIRG, Amnesty International, WSAC, La Raza, Out-
Front MN, Minnesota Women’s Consortium, MNCASA, UPCC, Black
Student Union, the Aurora Center, GLBTA Network, and QSCC
Sponsored by: Erbert and Gerbert's, Jimmy John's, Breadsmith, Pizza Luce, Peace Coffee
Advancing Women's Rights // Gender discrimination and human rights abuses against women persist in our society. In 1999, MPIRG updated a 1989 survey of sexual harassment and violence on Minnesota college campuses, showing some improvement since the survey was first conducted. However, the data overwhelmingly pointed to the need for more work in policy change, education and support in eliminating sexual violence.
Unfortunately, sexual violence is only one of several abuses that women in Minnesota continue to suffer. Sexual assault, domestic violence, reproductive rights violations and economic discrimination remain prevalent in our state. Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women reported in their 2000 Femicide Report that over forty women were murdered by their partners in Minnesota in one year. So far MPIRG has raised more than $120,000 for area women’s shelters and advocacy programs through its annual productions of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues."
Each year, MPIRG builds on its past work in women's issues, particularly on Minnesota college campuses.
"The Vagina Monologues" / V-DAY // "The Vagina Monologues" was written to break the silence surrounding women’s relationships with their bodies, to celebrate and empower women and to end sexual violence against women. V-Day is the movement that was created to continue the play’s work. MPIRG campuses and other colleges throughout the United States and around the world receive free copyrights to perform and produce the play under the stipulation that all proceeds benefit shelters or advocacy for battered women. The primary mission of the V-Day Campus Initiative is to clearly and vocally articulate a space for women to redefine their most intimate experiences, and to shatter the silence under which women have been kept from cultural, academic, economic and political equality. This year will mark the 11th annual production of "The Vagina Monologues."
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MPIRG students greet attendees of the 2008 "The Vagina Monologues" at UMTC's St. Paul Student Center. |
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Cast of the 2008 "The Vagina Monologues" with Joy Friedman from Breaking Free. |
To learn more about our events or to find out what you can do to help in the fight against domestic abuse and sexual violence, get involved with MPIRG.
Links and Resources
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