take back the night

Tomorrow is Take Back the Night. Take Back the Night generally consists of a speak-out, march, and rally and is participated in internationally; often there is a whole week or more of activities concerning violence against women and gender violence. Take Back the Night is seen as a direct action response to violence against women. Check out takebackthenight.org for more information.

Wherever you are, there's a good chance that there'll be some sort of Take Back the Night event nearby; most all campuses participate, for example. Please check it out--it is up to all of us to make this a safe world for women and men. Take Back the Night can be a powerful experience--I think it is incredibly important to support it and all the people who participate. And we can all learn a lot by attending. At speak-outs, you can listen to the experiences of others and learn from them while being there to support the people speaking about their own experiences with violence or their own concerns and ideas for change. If there are marches, you can walk together in solidarity or offer your support and your voice, actively stating your opposition to sexism and violence.

I posted the following list on this blog a year ago but I feel it is important enough to post again. The list is mostly directed at males; all of us men need to remember our roles and responsibilities in the continuing violences against women. So, read it, pass it on, share it with men in your life, and let's stand against violence and start making this a better world to live in.

10 THINGS MEN CAN DO TO PREVENT GENDER VIOLENCE

Approach gender violence as a MEN'S issue involving men of all ages and socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. View men not only as perpetrators or possible offenders, but as empowered bystanders who can confront abusive peers If a brother, friend, classmate, or teammate is abusing his female partner -- or is disrespectful or abusive to girls and women in general -- don't look the other way. If you feel comfortable doing so, try to talk to him about it. Urge him to seek help. Or if you don't know what to do, consult a friend, a parent, a professor, or a counselor. DON'T REMAIN SILENT. Have the courage to look inward. Question your own attitudes. Don't be defensive when something you do or say ends up hurting someone else. Try hard to understand how your own attitudes and actions might inadvertently perpetuate sexism and violence, and work toward changing them. If you suspect that a woman close to you is being abused or has been sexually assaulted, gently ask if you can help. If you are emotionally, psychologically, physically, or sexually abusive to women, or have been in the past, seek professional help NOW. Be an ally to women who are working to end all forms of gender violence. Support the work of campus-based women's centers. Attend "Take Back the Night" rallies and other public events. Raise money for community-based rape crisis centers and battered women's shelters. If you belong to a team or fraternity, or another student group, organize a fundraiser. Recognize and speak out against homophobia and gay-bashing. Discrimination and violence against lesbians and gays are wrong in and of themselves. This abuse also has direct links to sexism (eg. the sexual orientation of men who speak out against sexism is often questioned, a conscious or unconscious strategy intended to silence them. This is a key reason few men do so). Attend programs, take courses, watch films, and read articles and books about multicultural masculinities, gender inequality, and the root causes of gender violence. Educate yourself and others about how larger social forces affect the conflicts between individual men and women. Don't fund sexism. Refuse to purchase any magazine, rent any video, subscribe to any Web site, or buy any music that portrays girls or women in a sexually degrading or abusive manner. Protest sexism in the media. Mentor and teach young boys about how to be men in ways that don't involve degrading or abusing girls and women. Volunteer to work with gender violence prevention programs, including anti-sexist men's programs. Lead by example Copyright 1999, Jackson Katz. www.jacksonkatz.com Reprint freely with credit.