During the month of April, an annual Take Back the Night Speak out is held to provide a space for victim-survivors of sexual, and relationship violence to feel supported. While individuals have the opportunity to share their story at the Speak out, we also offer the option to anonymously submit pieces for the event. By submitting your story anonymously, you are giving permission for the volunteers to share your piece at the event.
Below we have provided the guidelines for the Speak out. We ask you to abide by these to create a supportive and healing environment for the event attendees and speakers. If you have questions about these guidelines or if you have concerns that your piece does not fit within the guidelines, please contact Haley Mangette, Haley.Mangette@kzoo.edu.
The guidelines are as follows:
- The speak out is “off the record”, meaning that no reports will be made of any of the stories.
- We ask that you limit your piece to approximately 15 minutes.
- As a safety precaution to you, we ask you not to include the name of the accused, instead using a pronoun or an alias name.
- To ensure that the event is survivor-centered, anyone using the speak out for purposes other than what is intended, will be removed from the selection of stories.
- This is a forum for survivors of violence, to speak their experiences. It is not a political forum, and not a time for abusers to seek forgiveness or understanding.
Story workshops will be provided throughout the month of April as a resource to help victim-survivors write their stories! Our first workshop is April 10th from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in Stetson Chapel.