Aylee Collins was nearly brought to tears as she heard sexual assault victims open up on Wednesday evening.
As a woman, the 18-year-old UF psychology freshman said she doesn’t believe anybody is entitled to her or anyone else’s bodies.
“When something tragic happens, it doesn’t define them,” she said. “It doesn’t make them any less of a person. It isn’t their fault.”
About 100 people gathered on Plaza of the Americas for the annual “Take Back the Night: March and Rally to end Sexual Violence” event.
They chanted in solidarity and held handwritten signs that read, “Being sexy is not a crime. Sexual assault is,” and “Sex should be selfless, not selfish.”
People who came wrote love notes for survivors.
Sexual Trauma/Interpersonal Violence Education UF hosted the event, said Megan Johnson, a GatorWell health promotions specialist.
“We want survivors in our community to feel supported,” Johnson said.
Keynote speaker Maddy Coy, a UF professor who teaches a class called Violence Against Women kickstarted the evening’s discussion by emphasizing that the voices of survivors should be heard.
The participants marched a one-mile route around campus, toward 13th Street and down West University Avenue.
After participants returned to the plaza, STRIVE opened the stage for an open discussion, where students and community members spoke about their experiences. Ten people volunteered to tell their stories.
One male speaker urged people to ask for help if their trauma ever overcame their mental health. As a boy, he was sexually abused by an older male family member, which he kept a secret.
“My family didn’t believe me,” he said. “‘What do you know?’ They’d say. You’re just a kid.”
He said he held onto the secret for years and almost died by suicide twice.
“I still have the scars on my neck,” he said.
After hearing survivors speak about their experiences, Matthew Fuentes, a 22-year-old UF sociology senior, said he was at a loss for words.
“It makes me angry that we have to have these discussions because I feel like we should know that these things are wrong,” Fuentes said.
About 100 people attended the “Take Back the Night: March and Rally to end Sexual Violence,” to fight sexual assault and stand up for survivors of it. The group marched from Plaza of the Americas toward 13th Street and down West University Avenue.
