Wednesday, Oct. 6, will mark the Fox Valley’s 20th anniversary of Take Back The Night, an international event that supports putting an end to violence.

“We are women. We are men. Together we fight, to take back the night.” During Take Back The Night, this will be one of four chants used to express the importance of stopping violence in the community.

The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, with a resource fair and activities in Kolf Sports Center, 785 High Ave. Scheduled to follow is a rally, a march to the Winnebago County Courthouse, a vigil to remember victims and a closing ceremony.

“We want to increase awareness that it is everybody’s responsibility to stand up to violence,” said co-chair of the planning committee, Shelly Rutz.

The main message of this year’s event is “One night. Never silent.” Rutz explained that they are hoping to stress the significance of standing up to violence every day of the year, not just one night.

“We really wanted to play up the word silence,” Rutz said. “When we don’t talk about violence and we are silent, it will continue to happen.”

To celebrate the 20th anniversary, the event will highlight the Fox Valley’s fight against violence during the past 20 years. A video will be played focusing on the accomplishments over the past two decades.

UW Oshkosh has been a part of Take Back The Night since the first event began 20 years ago. Over the years, the University has taken on many new and exciting ways of keeping the campus aware of the issue. CARE (Campus Awareness for Relationship Education) has been around since the 1980s; in 2003 MenCARE was started.

“Men coming in and seeing it also as a male issue is an exciting thing,” Rutz said. “Twenty years ago there was total silence on the subject, but we are talking about it now.”

During the event male ally groups, MenCARE and Voices of Men will take a white ribbon pledge, which is part of an international movement for men to take a stand against violence.

“MenCARE has grown a lot in the past five years,” Rutz said. “CARE will be developing a consent matters program in the fall.”

An example of a statistic that Take Back The Night is trying to raise awareness of is that female college freshmen are at the highest risk for sexual assault. Another example: 25 percent of all college-age rape victims completely blame themselves for the attack. This year’s event aims to change these statistics by breaking the silence and talking about the issue. Survivors will share their stories this week, proving to young women and men that they do not have to keep everything to themselves.

• CARE meets on Sunday nights at p.m. in the Women’s Center. For more information, contact Rutz at rutzm@uwosh.edu or the Counseling Center at (920) 424-2061.

• For more information about Take Back The Night, visit www.uwosh.edu/home/tbtn.