TAKE BACK THE NIGHT

Tuesday, April 4, 2017 5:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

Take Back The Night is a celebration of courage-courage to speak out against sexual

violence, to report, to take action, and the courage of all victims of sexual violence.

I attended Take Back The Night from about 6:00 p.m. and stayed until 8:00 p.m. when it

ended. I could have never imagined how much I would learn in just two short hours. The special

guest of the night which I attended was Lynn Deddens, Dearborn and Ohio County Prosecuter.

Deddens discussed how sexual coercion and social media are connected. I learned what a danger

social media can be to young people, and those who do not realize how certain information can

be used in a negative way. I learned how predators target their victims, and how the victims are

coerced into sexting with people they know, and more disturbingly, strangers. Deddens also

talked about experiences from people who experiences the trauma of sexual assault, and what

people like me can do to help.

Another big portion of the two hours, was dedicated to cyberbullying. We learned how to

notice signs of cyberbullying and more importantly, how to prevent and protect children and

young adults from cyberbullying. Some of the most important things that I took away from this

were setting limits and monitoring the use of computers and always talking to young people

about online safety.

This was a very eye-opening night, and I am very excited to attend another one of these

Take Back The Night talks.