Although most sexual assault assailants are known to the victim, every woman has had her heartbeat quicken when she hears footsteps behind her on a walk through her own neighbourhood after dark. And at the moment, the familiar streets between the bus stop or the subway station and her home become dimly lit caverns of shadows. As she hears those footsteps behind her, she does the calculations in her mind: How far is home? Can she run in these shoes? Is anyone around she could call for help? Does she have anything in her purse she could use to defend herself? She might laugh nervously at the sudden motion of a cat that always makes her think someone is going to jump out at her. And she wishes silently that she didn’t walk her neighbourhood afraid.

She is not alone in her fear.

One in four North American women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. For vulnerable women—those under 17, disabled or indigenous—that number climbs to 83 per cent.

Starting as a grassroots, feminist movement “TAKE BACK THE NIGHT” has grown worldwide as the one night women walk in protest of sexualized violence against women. At events across Ontario on Friday, September 16, women will gather to walk in solidarity with their sisters. To walk and not run.