NEWS RELEASE
HURONIA TRANSITION HOMES
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On Thursday, May 2, Athena’s Sexual Assault Counselling & Advocacy Centre, a program of Huronia Transition Homes, will host its annual Take Back the Night rally at 6 p.m., at the Barrie Rotunda at 70 Collier St.
The rally will be followed by a march through downtown Barrie.
Take Back the Night is an international protest that demands an end to sexual assault and gender-based violence, which disproportionately impacts women and gender-diverse people.
As Huronia Transition Homes marks its 40th year of working in Simcoe County, this year’s event honours how far we’ve come, but also recognizes the change that still needs to happen.
“One of the biggest cultural shifts that has happened in our work over the past four decades has been that we’re seeing more people willing to talk about the problem,” says Kelly Redmond, program supervisor of Athena’s.
“Beyond survivors coming forward, we’re seeing a greater number of people discuss how sexual assault and gender-based violence are serious, widespread, systemic problems. On the heels of municipalities identifying intimate partner violence as an epidemic, and the push for the Ontario government to do the same, it is essential that these conversations continue, because as they do, we are forced to understand the problem in its entirety, and invest in genuine solutions.”
The focus of Take Back the Night is in its name: it empowers women, gender-diverse people, and children to claim their space, and walk freely through the streets at night. The event is a way for people to rally together and stand with survivors; to let them know that they are believed, and ultimately, that we demand social accountability for sexual assault and gender-based violence.
"Ending sexual violence requires multi-level solutions,” says Haily MacDonald, acting executive director of Huronia Transition Homes.
“As an individual, you are affecting change when you call someone out for telling a rape joke, or when you stand against homophobic or transphobic rhetoric. On a community and leadership level, change is made through tangible actions that accompany words of solidarity. As an organization, we are always operating at capacity, and with the cost of living being so high, the need for investing in direct solutions has never been clearer. Providing adequate support services, ongoing education, affordable housing, and harm reduction programs are just a few examples of how real change is made.”
Athena’s Take Back The Night rally will have community organizations providing information on the work they are doing across Simcoe County. The event will also feature speeches from community leaders, and provide refreshments. The march will take place on the sidewalks of downtown Barrie immediately following the rally.
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