Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

KAMLOOPS SEXUAL ASSAULT COUNSELLING CENTRE

Take Back the Night kicks off in Kamloops

Sep 23, 2021 | 4:05 PM

KAMLOOPS — For almost 40 years, Take Back the Night has brought awareness to the issue of sexualized violence. This year, the Kamloops Sexual Assault Counselling Centre decided to change up the local version of Take Back the Night to help highlight where sexualized violence can happen and reclaim those spaces.

According to the World Health Organization, around one-third of women around the globe have been subjected to violence in their lifetime. Most violent acts against women are perpetrated by men. Preventing that violence how Take Back the Night began.

“Rape culture and patriarchy are still very real, around the world and here in Kamloops,” Kamloops Sexual Assault Counselling Centre (KSACC) Agency Coordinator Alix Dolson explains. “We get a front-row view to some of the really awful pieces of that, so we know it’s happening. Even if for some folx in the community it might feel a little removed from their experience, or not still relevant, I can assure you that it is and that safety is a significant concern for a lot of people in Kamloops.”

The pandemic has been a difficult time for many who experience sexualized violence, due to several factors. The isolation that many have been feeling is part of why Take Back the Night organizers decided to try a new way to spread the message against sexualized violence.

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“Instead of doing a traditional march this year, we’ve decided to do a few different events focused around spots or industries where women and other marginalized genders might experience less safety,” Dolson says. “Things like being in pubs or bars, or performing on stage doing striptease.”

Thursday night (Sept. 23), there’s a Take Back the Night Trivia event being held at Bright Eye Brewing. On Friday, Kamloops Burlesque is hosting a showcase event in partnership with KSACC.

“Burlesque is really all about bodily autonomy. We get to be on stage and perform in a way that we want to and show our bodies in a way that we want to,” Kamloops Burlesque performer Tintina Tundra explains. “That relates to Take Back the Night because it’s all about sexualized violence and not really feeling that bodily autonomy. This is the other end of that spectrum, being able to be fully in control and creative in that way.”

Unfortunately for those interested, Trivia Night and the Burlesque Show are both sold out. However on Saturday, organizers plan to be at the Kamloops Regional Farmer’s Market for the third Take Back the Night event.

“Saturday morning we are going to have a table set up at the Farmer’s Market and we invite everyone, Dolson says. “Bring your kids, bring your friends. Come and help us write some messages of support and care for survivors and then we’ll put all those messages together into an art piece.”