Their stories were all different.
In some cases, it was a family member, a boyfriend, a student at UF.
It happened within the walls of a fraternity house. In a foreign country. On an air base.
One by one, eighteen UF students stepped forward Wednesday night and recounted their sexual assaults on Norman Field, as others in the crowd wiped away tears and rubbed each others’ backs.
They shared their experiences during the open-mic portion the annual Take Back the Night March and Rally to End Sexual Violence, a decades-old event organized by UF peer-education group STRIVE, or Sexual Trauma/Interpersonal Violence Education.
Peter Nguyenho’s assault happened when he was only about 8 years old.
Nguyenho, a 19-year-old UF psychology sophomore, said he only began telling people this past year.
First, he told his girlfriend. Then, his therapist at UF’s Counseling & Wellness Center.
But on Wednesday, he shared his story with about 150 listeners.
“It hurts, but it’s something that makes me, me,” he said. “I’ve learned to love myself more, despite what happened in the past.”
Nguyenho said he still struggles with the aftermath of the assault and battles anxiety, but sharing his story lifted a boulder from his back.
“Now you all know,” he said, “and it feels good.”
Attendees at the Take Back the Night March and Rally to End Sexual Violence wait in line for food and mingle prior to the first speaker coming on stage on Wednesday. The event allowed attendees to go on stage and talk about their experiences and traumas.
Normally, participants march through campus, but this year the march was canceled because of inclement weather, said Rita Lawrence, an interpersonal violence prevention counselor with STRIVE.
Instead of marching, attendees stayed on the field and listened to stories or spoke with representatives from UF’s Office of Victim Services and the UF student organization Aware, a mental health awareness organization, among others.
Attendees chanted, “Unite tonight, take back the night” and “Two, four, six, eight, no more violence, no more rape” while sitting.
Lawrence said the event helps give survivors a voice and educates others.
“If people come and they didn’t understand how to support a survivor, they can learn something from hearing from survivors,” she said.
Maggie Powers, a 21-year-old UF health science senior, said it was her third time attending the event.
Powers didn’t mind the march being canceled, because she felt the students who decided to share their stories were more important.
“Hearing people speak is always more powerful,” she said. “It reminds us how much this is a problem that needs to be solved.”
To close the event, Juliun Kinsey, a coordinator for Green Dot GNV, a local educational organization, spoke about the importance of bystander intervention. He said if everyone tries to intervene, the culture around sexual assault can change.
“No one has to do everything, but everyone has to do something,” he said.
Contact Romy Ellenbogen at rellenbogen@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @romyellenbogen
A sign is taped down to a table at the Take Back the Night March and Rally to End Sexual Violence on Wednesday. Attendees at the event could take markers and make their own signs at one of the booths.
