Since 1978 women in Ottawa have marched together to raise awareness about violence against women at the Take Back the Night march.

The march, organized by and for self-identified women, is a statement of women’s strength and solidarity and a protest against sexual violence on the streets, in homes and in every town and city around the world.

Although the march is symbolic, the reality is harsh — 51 percent of women in Canada have been sexually assaulted and 86 percent of assaults occur in a woman’s home.

Sexual assaults occur every day but only an estimated six percent are reported to the police. A disproportionate number of sexual assaults are perpetrated against women — this fact fuels the by-women, for-women approach to Take Back the Night.

The message behind Take Back the Night is that it should be a safe place for all women to protest together, and on Thursday night, Sep 24, it was — over 500 women marched the streets of Ottawa in solidarity.