Shatter the silence. Stop the violence.

That’s the motto and mission of the Take Back the Night Foundation, a group dedicated to stopping sexual violence through awareness. Loyola University and Tulane University will host the 18th annual Take Back the Night event Tuesday Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. to raise awareness about sexual violence.

The organization’s idea is that women and men can conquer their insecurities about sexual violence and feel safe during the night. Events are held across the globe, in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia and across the United States to help women achieve safety and empowerment.

The event begins in the horseshoe in front of Loyola’s Marquette Hall with opening ceremonies. Ilyse Goldberg, the New Orleans Take Back the Night chairwoman, will give an introduction and welcome address before the main speaker, whose identity is usually kept a secret until that night, makes his or her presentation. The speaker will be a Loyola or Tulane student who has been a victim of sexual violence.

A candle-lit march will take everyone down St. Charles Avenue and up Broadway Street ending at the Rogers Memorial Chapel where the “speak-out” will take place.

This “open-mic” forum is a time for other victims, friends of victims and advocates to share their reactions, stories or opinions with others about sexual violence.

“Hearing others’ stories enables people to feel safe,” Goldberg said, adding that sexual violence is an issue that affects many college students. One in six women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, according to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network.

Woody Rinker, a music education senior who has attended Take Back the Night before, finds this event particularly relevant to both the university and the New Orleans community and sees it as “an opportunity to reflect on our attitudes about gender-based violence and how they affect the actions of others.”

The number of attendants has been rising each year, Goldberg said. She estimates over 400 attended last year and is optimistic that the attendance will be higher this year.

Samira Jones, psychology senior, who has participated in the event in past years, said she loves “seeing so many students and others gathered together in solidarity against sexual violence.”

Jones, a member of Loyola’s Women’s Issues Organization, is working to encourage people outside the university communities to attend the event. Although the event has focused on gender-based violence that specifically affects university students in the past, it is open to the entire community.

Janece Bell can be reached at [email protected]