'Take Back The Night' Rally Marches Through Philadelphia
By Kristen Johanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- People from all walks of life came together Thursday night for the 5th annual rally and march called 'Take Back the Night' in Philadelphia.
Victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and advocates for prevention marched from different points of the city, coming together to support awareness of domestic and sexual abuse.
"We claim our bodies, we claim our right... we take a stand and take back the night," they chanted.
After the rally outside on Chestnut Street, the group gathered inside First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia to share tales of survival.
With tearful eyes, Lesley Williams told her story of sexual abuse and spoke of the empowerment to be surrounded by others who have been through something similar.
"Tell your story to someone else," she said, "in hopes that it helps the other individual."
Williams hopes to reach someone else who is struggling.
"No matter what you go through, there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is light. You just have to hang in there. and you just have to have the sheer will to know that it doesn't stop there, it doesn't stop. You just can't give up," she says.