How Gwynedd Mercy University creates safe space for survivors of sexual violence
GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. (CBS) -- College students in Montgomery County are coming together to create a safe space for survivors of sexual violence.
The door to Robert Wood's office is quite literally always open.
"Frequently," Wood, Gwynedd Mercy University's Title IX coordinator, said, "somebody will walk by and then I'll hear the turn and they'll come back and say, 'can I talk to you for a minute?' And I say sure, sit down."
All hours of the day, Woods says, students stop in to talk.
Wood is also spearheading the annual campus event "Take Back the Night."
"It does get back to one of the most important steps for anybody who has been traumatized and that's to be heard," Woods said.
Junior Brooke Balkiewicz is one of several students working alongside Wood to organize the event.
The goal is to raise awareness of the issue of sexual violence while also creating a safe space for survivors to share their stories, or simply to come and listen.
"You can kind of say we have to do better," Balkiewicz said, "but doing so and actually proving that you're able to make a change is really important."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of women and nearly one in three men "have experienced sexual violence."
Balkiewicz says being an advocate for those survivors is what drives her to organize the event.
"A lot of people think, 'Oh, it couldn't happen to me, couldn't happen on campus,'" Balkiewicz said, "but it does."
Tuesday night's Take Back the Night will also feature Allison Denman, the clinical director of the Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center, as a guest speaker.
The event will also collect clothing and toiletry donations for the center.
"Breaking down stigmas and advocating for these uncomfortable, taboo topics is super, super, super important," Balkiewicz said.
Take Back the Night is open to any and everyone in the community.
The event will happen at the Waldron Student Center on Gwynedd Mercy's campus from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
