In response to a rash of sexual assaults, rapes and murders, a group of German women held the first Take Back the Night march in 1973.
The movement, which has become worldwide, took roots in Utah during 1979 when activists marched down South Temple in Salt Lake City.
University of Utah professor Patty Regan was at that first Utah march and Tuesday she rallied troops for another Take Back the Night rally on the steps of the Capitol.
"I had hoped that after that first march we would never have to march again but unfortunately we are back tonight," Regan said.
In some cities, like Provo, marches are held annually but in Salt Lake such events are more rare. Rape Recovery Center volunteer Amy Alleman, who helped organized Tuesday's event, said the march developed as a part of sexual assault awareness month.
"We wanted some kind of public event that would focus the spotlight on the problem," Alleman said. "People need to know that violence happens across racial, gender and socioeconomic boundaries . . . . People need to be able to speak up and say that this level of violence in our community is not acceptable."
Alleman stressed the march was not intended to be a strike against men. As she explained, "men aren't rapists, rapists are rapists."
The rally comes on the heels an annual crime report that showed instances of rape and similar sex crimes were on the decline in the Beehive State. But sexual assaults and similar violent acts can't be viewed through statistics but must be understood through the hearts of the victims, Dr. Kim Lau told the crowd.
Lau, also a professor at the U., told the crowd about a former student who was doing research for a study on rape and male institutions, specifically football teams. The student decided to proceed with the study after a friend of hers was allegedly gang raped by football players, Lau said.
Last November, in the midst of her research, the female U. student was brutally raped. Her life became a paradox, Lau said. She couldn't sleep but all she wanted to do was sleep. At once she couldn't stand to be around people but had an intense fear of isolation.
For 17 days she became a recluse inside her home. She quit smoking because her roommates wouldn't allow it in the house and she couldn't bear the outside.
Lau told the crowd to walk for victims like her student, who is gradually overcoming the assault and experiencing a "recovery of the soul."
Some in the crowd shed tears as Lau spoke, themselves survivors of violence.
From the Capitol steps the group moved down state street chanting and waving signs. The march ended at the Salt Lake City and County Building where survivors of violence cathartically and publicly shared their own personal stories as victims.
No political leaders attended the event, where U. professor Theresa Martinez, who also spoke at the Capitol, challenged the patriarchy of political power to take a more public stand against domestic violence and rape.