March to stand up against sexual abuse to be held in Stroudsburg
DELAWARE WATER GAP, MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Shattering the silence and standing up against sexual abuse, one nonprofit in the Poconos is doing that by “Taking Back the Night.”
28/22 News Reporter Sydney Kostus met with the organizers to learn more about Safe Monroe’s annual event and why it’s important for people to understand its message.
Colorful posters bearing messages such as “No more silence, no more violence” are scattered on a table inside Safe Monroe in Delaware Water Gap. The non-profit’s executive director Lauren Peterson combs through them as they’ll be put on display during its annual “Take Back The Night” march and rally Thursday recognizing sexual assault awareness month.
“Every 68 seconds in America, someone is raped,” Peterson told 28/22 News. “It happens everywhere and it can impact anybody. There’s no box that you can say, ‘Ok this is a victim or a survivor, and that’s not a victim or survivor.’ It really can impact anybody.”
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Safe Monroe is the domestic and sexual violence center for Monroe County.
Partnering with East Stroudsburg University, Take Back the Night has happened for more than 20 years as hundreds will march from Stroudsburg’s Courthouse Square to campus.
Broadening the message to not just women, as one in six men worldwide suffer some form of sexual abuse.
“Men, boys, gender non-conforming, those in the LGBTQIA+ community, anyone can be a victim and that movement really has shifted to include those people, to include oppression and respect, and away from just the women’s movement,” Peterson added.
Providing support to survivors, Peterson says it’s important for people to learn that abuse has no boundaries and doesn’t just mean violence.
“More often than not, there’s that fear factor, that intimidation factor, the coercion factor,” Peterson said.
If you or anyone you know has endured sexual abuse, you can anonymously contact Safe Monroe through its crisis hotline.
If you’d like to march in the Take Back the Night event, head to Courthouse Square in Stroudsburg at 5:00 p.m. A rally will then be held at ESU to share support and resources for survivors.
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