Dark starry night background. Golden flag across the middle. Bright flowers on both the left and right side frame a standing up figure speaking into a loudspeaker. Underneath a figure using a wheelchair mobility device holds up both arms in victory.

Text reads 37th Annual Take Back the Night from Generation to Generation. Together we hope to resist sexual violence through conversations with our elders, our youth, and ourselves.

September 15th 2017 at Regent Park Community Centre located at 402 Shuter Street.

Total event runs from 4pm – 10pm.

• 4:00pm Community Dinner
• 5:00pm Talking Circles
• 6:30pm Rally
• 8:00 March

Accessibility Info

• Wheelchair Accessible
• ASL Interpretation provided
• Childcare provided
• Attendant Care provided
• All genders and orientations welcome

FB Event: Click here!

Take Back the Night Toronto 2017 will be held on:

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

at

Regent Park Communty Centre (402 Shuter St. at Parliament)

details to be announced.

STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY

With Gilary Massa and the #IStandWithGilary campaign

The Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape (TRCCMWAR) stands in solidarity with Gilary Massa in connection to her Ontario Human Rights complaint against Ryerson Student Union and the #IStandWithGilary campaign.

The TRCCMWAR finds it appalling that the Ryerson Student Union would fire a long time, committed worker like Gilary based on the premise of ‘restructuring’. We find it oppressive; racist and sexist that 3 months into Massa’s maternity leave she was terminated. We believe this termination is illegal and unethical and we do not support the guise under which this termination is being framed.

We understand that Ryerson strives to work from an equity model and yet this wrongful termination makes it clear that this is not the case. We are not in support of terminating a new mother, Muslim-identified Black woman without cause or notification of restructuring.

Gilary Massa is a well-know advocate and activist in Toronto. She has supported the work of the TRCCMWAR for years and we consider her a centre member.

The Ryerson Student union has offered the Ryerson Student Centre to act as an event venue for the 36^th Annual Take Back the Night event. The TRCCMWAR and survivors of the Toronto community would benefit from having Ryerson groups such as the Office of Sex Violence Support and Education (OSVSE), Continuing Education Student Association of Ryerson (CESAR), the Centre for Women and Trans People, the Trans Collective, Rye ACCESS and other student groups to be part of the dialogue around survivors of sexual violence.

It is with the support of these groups and Gilary Massa that we proceed with using the co-owned Ryerson Student Centre at 55 Gould Street as the event venue for the 2016 Take Back the Night.

We continue to stand in solidarity with justice and to us this means, meeting the demands of the #IStandWithGilary campaign and reinstating Gilary Massa immediately.

The Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape in collaboration with Survivors living with disabilities– Toronto is pleased to announce its 36^th annual Take Back the Night event happening on Friday September 16^th, 2016 at Ryerson Student Union located at 55 Gould St. (at Dundas and Yonge)

This year’s theme is about centering the lives and experiences of survivors who self-identify as living with various disabilities which include but are not limited to physical disabilities, mobility disabilities, cognitive disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health as disability. We operate within the independent living philosophy while empowering survivors with disabilities to be leaders in their own lives.

People living with disabilities have higher rates of trauma and violence in our community. For many reasons these incidents are underreported and often unidentified by the individual and the community as a whole. One of the biggest barriers to people living with disabilities is not physical barriers but attitudinal ones. This years Take Back the Night will mobilize this community into taking action!

We welcome Trans people, genderqueer people, 2Spirit people, non-binary people and cisgender women living with disabilities and non-disabled community members/representatives of community

ASL interpretation, Deaf Interpretation, Attendant care, tokens, dinner provided!

 Committee meetings are on the following dates:

Wednesday August 3rd (6-8pm) – What is TBTN? What are the roles of TBTN? What does it mean to work with survivors living with disabilities? What thoughts do we have about the theme, poster, etc? How do you want to be involved at Take Back the Night?

Wednesday August 10^th (6-8pm) – – What is the progress of roles and jobs for the event? What is accessibility for the event? What does the rally look like? What are the committees for each aspect of the event?

Wednesday August 17^th (6-8pm) – Workshop on Disability and committee work including: food, childcare, media, rally, poster making and community fair. Additional planning including: Accessibility team support and Rally team support.

 Wednesday August 24th (6-8pm) – ACCESSIBILITY TEAM SUPPORT TRAINING Part 1: For Accessibility Team volunteers and all committee members

Wednesday August 31st (6-8pm) – ACCESSIBILITY TEAM SUPPORT TRAINING Part 2: For Accessibility Team volunteers and all committee members

 Wednesday September 7^th (6-8pm)– MARSHALL TRAINING: For would-be marshals, committee meeting happens in another space.

Wednesday September 14^th (6-8pm) – Final meeting before the event. Site visit, walking/rolling the route, looking at the space for community fair, etc. This meeting will take place at Ryerson Student Union (55 Gould St.)

Wednesday September 21st^th (6-8pm) – Celebration and Event Evaluation

All Meetings take place at 2398 Yonge St. Anne Johnston Health Station

(closest major intersection Yonge and Eglinton)

ASL interpretation, Deaf Interpretation, Attendant care, tokens, dinner provided!

Interesting in helping to plan Take Back the Night this year? Contact Deb at (416)597-1171 x 230 or deb@trccmwar.ca

The Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape needs to make a statement about gender and our position of various genders being included/centralized to the process of building and attending the community event of Take Back the Night.

While sexual violence impacts all of us, we understand that based on experiences of oppression, sexual violence will have different impacts for those who have experiences of oppression based on age, sexual identity, class, race, gender identity, family status, ability and faith-based beliefs (including all other forms of oppression).

Herstorically, the community planning committee of Take Back the Night, can be made up of people of all genders excluding cisgendered men. This would include cisgendered women identified people, trans women, gender queer people and trans men. Also herstorically, all genders were included in attending the event, except at the time of the march in where only women, trans women and children were asked to participate in the march.

The event itself claims space for all survivors of sexualized of violence (including survivors of interpersonal violence such as childhood sexual assault, sexual assault, rape and domestic violence and institutional violence such as racism, homophobia, ableism, etc). However we recognize that gender-based violence disproportionately affects women, trans people and children.

The TRCC/MWAR wants to co-create space with community members to claim space for all survivors of sexual violence. At the same time, as we recognize gender plays a role in (sexualized) violence and we want Take Back the Night to reflect this. We also understand that folks who may have experiences growing up socialized as one gender, then transitioning to another gender may also have experienced impacts of sexual violence that need to be recognized at the event.

All genders are welcomed to the Community Fair and Rally of Take Back the Night, including any and all activities at the event exterior to the march. We welcome all two-spirited people, genderqueer people, cisgendered women, trans women, trans men, youth and children to attend the march. We welcome cigendered men to stand at the outskirts of the march and support the cisgendered women, trans women, trans men, two-spirited people, genderqueer people, youth and children you see marching. We encourage trans men and gender queer folks to decide for yourselves whether or not to participate in the march.

**For 2013 – In an attempt to decolonize gender, we are inviting cisgender men to join in the march. **

At the TRCC/MWAR, we work with communities of survivors to reflect what is needed at Take Back the Night. We ask that communities of trans people to take up space at Take Back the Night and the anti-violence movement at large.

For two-spirited, genderqueer and/or trans people: We have trained marshals for the march and we ask marshals to not police people’s gender. That means, marshals are not instructed to talk to or remove anyone from the march without consulting with their squad leader.  Marshals are instructed to not make decisions about marchers on their own, but look to squad leaders for direction, in situations where people are unsafe, being harassed, etc. Marshals are instructed to think about the safety of all marchers in their role of marshal.