In Gloucester, MA on Thursday, April 28, 2016, the Coalition for the Prevention of Domestic Abuse, the YWCA North Shore Rape Crisis Center, and HAWC (Healing Abuse Working for Change) will take a stand against sexual violence in all forms—dating abuse, rape, sexual assault, domestic violence. Led by Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, we will gather at 6:30 PM at Gloucester City Hall,9 Dale Ave., Gloucester, and walk through downtown to the Blackburn Building Parking Lot, where the Mayor, Domestic Abuse Designated Police Officer Ron Piscitello and representatives of the YWCA North Shore Rape Crisis Center, HAWC and the Coalition will address the gathering. People of all ages, races, religions, backgrounds, and genders are encouraged to join with us as we work toward a violence free Gloucester community.
Since the early 70’s, Take Back the Night Events (“TBTN”) have been held in the U.S. to bring together those committed to ending sexual assault and assisting survivors. TBTN Events have been held in over 30 countries in over 1,000 locations around the world.
Joining the event this year is Gloucester High School students and the Cape Ann YMCA youth group. They are rallying together to create anti-domestic violence posters and signage to display during the march. The event program also includes a survivor speaker:
“Jasmine Grace is using her voice and story of hope to raise awareness for women who are currently enslaved in sex trafficking situations by speaking at schools, colleges, churches and conferences. She firmly believes education about this issue can help prevent and abolish it.“
For more information on Jasmine Grace and her work please visit her website at: www.jasminegrace.org
Mayor Romeo Theken will be leading the rally and march this year. She continues to be a strong supporter of continuing efforts to provide domestic violence awareness and education to the Gloucester community.
All members of the community are invited to join in recognizing that there is no excuse for abuse and that as a community, we will speak up to offer safety to victims, ongoing education to the community, and do all we can to reduce the incidence of sexual assault and domestic violence.
