Crisis Line and Safehouse of Central Georgia hosts Take Back the Night at CGTC 

WARNER ROBINS – Crisis Line and Safehouse of Central Georgia and Central Georgia Technical College hosted Take Back the Night, in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 

Candles were lit up at CGTC in honor of sexual assault victims. Representatives of Crisis Line and SafeHouse representatives spoke to about empowerment and encouraging people to speak out. Shirts were also decorated around the college campus, where each color represented a different type of victimization. 

Sexual Assault Advocacy Director Rieka Audain opened the event informing the audience about the organization and addressing the strength of staying united. 

“Every voice matters, whether you are a survivor, an ally, or someone who is seeking to learn and support, we all belong here,” Audain said. 

Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Prescott Judd, the event’s keynote speaker, spoke about her experience and how she found strength.

“I couldn’t help but remember what I felt that night: that feeling of complete and utter hopelessness, he feeling of being trapped. And I knew without a doubt that I wanted to be the person to help people who are going through the same thing,” Judd said. “I decided that I wanted to be the hand that reaches out as so many others did for me. I wanted to do something to leave this world and my community a little better off than when I found it.” 

After the event, Judd said although she was terrified to share her story, the event felt inspiring and she felt she had a community standing by her for the first time in her life.

“It felt really scary, but it also felt really freeing. I was very ashamed of what happened to me for a long time and when I was 16 and 17, if you ever told me I would do this, I would definitely laugh in your face. So, it feels like I’m freeing that 16-year-old version of me that hit everything,” she said. 

Judd’s journey with Crisis Line and Safehouse started when she was a freshman at Mercer University. Judd said she had a friend who was sexually assaulted and while looking for resources in the community, she found the organization. 

Judd noticed volunteer positions available and immediately applied. While going in for the interview, she realized she applied for a real job and after roughly two years, she started working full time.

Take Back the Night originated on college campuses and began for survivors to protest the fact that the night was unsafe. Judd said the event has spread nationwide, which is where the organization took inspiration from, leading them to invite survivors and the community.

“Our goal was really to say to survivors, ‘We see you, we hear you, you matter,’ and then say to community members, ‘Come support survivors, stand out for survivors, come out for survivors, stand up for survivors.’ So, twofold messages for victims and for the community to unify one important message,” she said. 

She shared the event is hosted on college campuses because rates of sexual assault are higher. According to Judd, college-aged adults between 18 and 24 are more at risk of sexual violence. 

Judd also shares there is a term called the “red zone,” where sexual assaults are likely to happen in the first semester of college. This is due to events like homecoming and parties which involve alcohol.

“We’ve seen in our nation sort of an epidemic of sexual assaults on campuses, and so we know it’s really important to get on campuses and get that message out there to try and raise awareness,” she said. 

Crisis Line and Safehouse of Central Georgia has a location in Warner Robins and Macon. To find out more information visit their website. If anyone is in a crisis, they are encouraged to call (478) 745-9292.