Norse Violence Prevention’s (NVP) “Take Back the Night,” held Tuesday evening in the Student Union, focused on raising awareness and providing resources to survivors of sexual violence. Equipped with booths and a panel of community members, the event ended with the opening of the exhibit, “What Were You Wearing?”
“Take Back the Night is all about breaking up silence and raising awareness on relationship and sexual violence,” NKU President Cady Short-Thompson said during the welcoming speech. “This is not a one-day event. We must be vigilant in raising awareness and preventing these incidents year-round.”
Following Short-Thompson’s remarks was the Survivor Speak Out, where three sexual violence survivors shared their stories and discussed how NVP has helped them.
“A lot of what we do at Norse Violence Prevention is confidential, and people don’t get to meet the students that we work with, or really know much about what we do,” NVP Advocate Emily Wright said. “So this is our opportunity to come together, survivors and allies.”
NKU offers support to survivors through numerous resources on and off campus. Community services, such as Women Helping Women and The Ion Center, provide safe spaces for victim-survivors.
An on-campus resource, LGBTQA+ Student Initiatives, has partnered with NVP for six years. The director, Dr. LaVette Burnette, spoke alongside five others on the panel. She advised students to “be where your feet are,” and emphasized the importance of being present for others, especially those with cultural differences.
“The first thing we must do is demystify who can be a victim,” Burnette said. “Understanding that it can happen to anyone, in any place, in any form.”
On the third floor of the Student Union, the “What Were You Wearing?” exhibition displays recreated or actual outfits worn by survivors. A diverse range of clothing lines the walls, challenging typical victim-blaming narratives. From casual hoodies and sweatpants to school uniforms and yellow sundresses, each outfit carries its own story.
Open until April 11, the exhibit was curated by the Care Closet and School of the Arts students, such as Kendall Hall.
“We really wanted to work on displaying the clothes with a lot of care involved,” Hall said. “To really bring them to life and tell these people’s stories in a way that shows that we care about their experiences.”
To see the full virtual exhibit, visit here.
