On Wednesday evening, Angelique Perrin told about 120 protesters gathered at the Reitz Union Amphitheatre how she had been raped last year.
The 29-year-old Gainesville resident left Copper Monkey in Midtown before noon on July 5, ready to walk home.
A stranger offered her a ride and she accepted.
The man locked her in his car and took her to the former Windmeadows Trailer Park where he raped her.
“He seemed so damn normal,” she said. “Like anybody. He seemed like a nice guy.”
Perrin’s speech was part of the finale of UF’s Take Back the Night, an annual march and protest against sexual violence.
The event was hosted by UF, STRIVE and the Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center.
Ashley Cortez, the event organizer and a victim advocate counselor with the county, said the event’s goal was to break the stigma of talking about sexual violence.
“People kind of have this idea that rape or sexual assault is a stranger that jumps out from the bush or follows them home at night,” she said. “This is not necessarily the case.”
According to the 2005 National Crime Victimization Study, approximately two-thirds of rapes were committed by someone the victim knew.
The event started at Turlington Plaza, where participants created signs to carry during their march around the northeast part of campus and Sorority Row.
Among the marchers was Miriam Hill, the president of the Gainesville Roller Rebels roller derby team.
She was supporting a family member who was a victim of sexual assault and spoke up 16 years later.
“I respected her for having the strength to talk about it,” Hill said.
Loretta Golden, director of the Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center, said similar events have been held in Gainesville since she began working for the county in 1982.
“UF has been a leader in providing that kind of opportunity to survivors,” she said.
Criminology senior Charkivia Lovett, 22, makes a sign that reads "We are women, we are men. Together we fight to take back the night." at the Take Back the Night rally on Wednesday to fight against sexual violence.
