An event dedicated to identifying and preventing intimate partner abuse will make its way through downtown Chatham on Friday night.
Take Back the Night is one of the oldest worldwide movements to stand against sexual violence.
"The goal of the march is to raise awareness around sexual violence and focus on prevention," said Linda Soulliere, Executive Director of the Chatham-Kent Sexual Assault Crisis Centre. "We're also going to be supporting survivors of sexual violence and their healing process."
The walk will start at the Civic Centre in downtown Chatham at 7 p.m. Friday.
"Marching all the way down King Street to the WISH Centre," said Soulliere. "We have noisemakers, whistles, cowbells, we want to be noisy, we want people to pay attention. I mean we've had two women murdered this year. So, let's get together and Take Back The Night."
Soulliere added that the celebration at the end of the walk is set for 8 p.m.
"When we get to the WISH Centre we're going to have a local female musician, we're going to have games, and we're going to have a celebration with food," said Soulliere. "It should be a really good night."
The theme of this year's event is Shatter the Silence.
"There's been what they claim -- 115 sexual assaults last year, up about 45 per cent over the year before. But only 6 per cent of all sexual assaults are ever reported, so we're looking at over 1,000," said Soulliere.
You can pre-register for the walk online at https://cksacc.org/event/take-back-the-night-2024/.
