Next Thursday evening, you might see hundreds of people marching across campus and hear the sounds of yelling and chanting at UNH's annual Take Back the Night march and rally. The world's first Take Back the Night took place in England in 1970, and UNH began hosting the event in 1981. This is accomplished through our 24-hour crisis line, academic interventions, support groups and other resources. It is such an important event for survivors and anyone affected by violence and sexual assault to not feel so isolated and alone.
University students are especially vulnerable to sexual violence.
Individuals who are between 15 and 24 years old are most likely to be victimized. These age factors along with environmental and social factors puts students at risk. By December, the number of reported sexual assaults with penetration was almost twice as high as the number of reports from the entire year before, and the number of reported attempted sexual assaults or sexual assaults had already exceeded totals from the whole year before. Most sexual violence never gets reported at all. Chances are that everyone on this campus knows someone who is a survivor of violence or sexual assault, or are survivors themselves.