MARCH PROTESTS VIOLENCE ON WOMEN; SEMO STUDENTS HOLD TAKE BACK NIGHT EVENT

The march route was only from Academic Hall to the corner and back, but the participants said they made their point.

Women shouldn't have to be afraid of the dark.

About 25 people gathered Tuesday for Take Back the Night events at Southeast Missouri State University. After role-playing on dealing with sexual assault, they gathered to begin their protest.

A driving rain threatened to end the march, but the mostly female group decided to attempt a short walk. Holding a huge Take Back the Night banner, they climbed down the steps of Academic Hall and returned a few minutes later, their clothes dripping.

"Being part of the solution includes taking direct action," march co-organizer Melissa Gielow said. "That includes showing that you condemn violent acts against women. That behavior is unacceptable, and it will stop."

Gielow and fellow organizer Jamie Young, both students at Southeast, said the last Take Back the Night March in Cape Girardeau was in 1990. Because both know other students who were victims of violence, they wanted to resurrect and sustain the tradition.

Gielow had a more personal reason for involvement. Her uncle is serving a prison term for physically and sexually abusing his wife and three children. When Gielow remembered nights spent with her cousins, she realized she could have been a victim, too.

"I got scared, and I hated that feeling," she said. "You should always be safe with your family, but it could have been me."

Survivors of violence were invited to share their stories inside Academic Hall after the march, but most remained silent. Only after the event did one Cape Girardeau survivor come over to speak with the organizers.

Her name is Linda, and she was a student at Southeast in the late 1960s. A 19-year-old virgin, she repeatedly turned down a new boyfriend's requests for sex.

One night he had a few drinks, took her to his fraternity house, ripped off her underwear and raped her. When it was over, he said, "Now I know you aren't a virgin."

"I felt so ashamed, like damaged goods," Linda said. "I didn't report it. I just told my mother about it a week ago."

She didn't discuss the incident for years, until her daughter became a victim of date rape last year. The situation was similar -- the rapist was a well known athlete in his hometown, the victim was scared nobody would believe her. She waited four weeks to tell her mother what happened.

In a show of support for people like Linda and her daughter, a few men participated in the march, one even holding the banner. Jason Buterin came back ink stained but satisfied he did his part.

The 20-year-old New York native has participated in similar marches in other cities. He said it is for the women he knew who became victims of violence, including his best friend.

"Her dad beat her and sexually abused her," Buterin said. "I got into a fight with him over it. I've had other female friends who have been slapped or verbally abused by their boyfriends. There needs to be more men at events like these."

There are several ways women can become victims of violence -- in the home or on the street. Experts say those who get help have a better chance of surviving.

A Cape Girardeau police spokesman said that a woman who has been raped -- on a date or otherwise -- should call the police immediately. Evidence can be preserved and charges filed, a process that can prevent crimes against other women.