In celebration of the 25 year anniversary of Take Back the Night (TBTN) at UTEP, students gathered Wednesday, April 24, at the Union Cinema to listen to the testimony of those who once were victims of sexual and domestic abuse.
Juliette Grimmett, a survivor of campus sexual assault and advocate against sexual violence at Chrysalis Network, was one of the two survivors who shared their testimony Wednesday night.
Grimmett shared with the audience the aftermath of the event. A year later, she moved back to her parents’ house where she began her healing process.
“It was very difficult, but I knew this is what I needed,” Grimmett said. “I wanted to sort of commit my life to make sure that no one was treated the way I had been.”
The TBTN movement started in the 1970s as an attempt to raise awareness and combat sexual violence and abuse in school campuses and communities around the world.
Since then more than 800 communities around the world have held TBTN events around the world according to the organization’s website.
America Alvarez, a 23-year-old graduate student at UTEP, shared her story of domestic violence.
“I am a child survivor born into an abuse relationship in which my dad was the aggressor and my mom was the direct victim,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez shared that in her early years, her dad was her role model and the person she aspired to be, but as she grew older there was a shift that changed the environment at home.
“If he was upset at me for whatever reason, that was silent treatment for at least a month to three months,” Alvarez said. “And things got worse, he would only buy groceries for himself, so my mom and I had to struggle with that.”
According to Alvarez, one of the things that kept her moving forward during that time was the dream of graduating with honors from high school and college—goals she accomplished.
Alvarez mention the importance of seeking help and to keep an open mind when listening to those who have been victims of abuse.
“I really want to advise everyone to please not only keep an open mind, but an open heart, because this type of things are a lot more common that we’d like to admit,” Alvarez said. “If you’re going through something similar or you know someone, rest assure and know that you can overcome it, but you can’t do it alone and it’s perfectly okay to ask for help.”
At the end of the event, students, survivors and attendees held a moment of silence as they lighted up glowing sticks for the survivors and victims of sexual violence.
For more information about TBTN visit takebackthenight.org
