SALT LAKE CITY — “However we dress, wherever we go, ‘yes’ means yes and ‘no’ means no!”

So rang the students’ chants as the sun set on 1300 East. Purple-clad women waved signs emblazoned with “Respect! Equality!” “Stop the silence, stop the violence,” and, of course, “Take back the night.”

Co-hosted by students at the University of Utah and Westminster College, Wednesday’s Take Back the Night event protested all forms of sexual violence, including sexual assault and domestic abuse.

“More than anything, tonight is about engaging the community,” said Natalie Green, president of Student for Choice at the University of Utah. “We’re just trying to engage our peers and make sure that we’re all part of the solution to ending sexual assault and violence.”

Take Back the Night was organized by the two colleges’ respective chapters of Students for Choice, the campus outreach arm of Planned Parenthood.

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Her night out was supposed to be a celebration of her sister's birthday. Instead, Jessica Ripley ended up sexually assaulted and battered, undergoing a CT scan because an emergency room physician feared her skull was fractured, she said.

The event coincided with the opening of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month as well as Utah’s first statewide "Start By Believing Day." The holiday, which will be celebrated the first Wednesday of April each year, is the result of a bill passed this legislative session by Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City.

"Start By Believing" is a national campaign by End Violence Against Women, a nonprofit advocacy organization. The campaign has recently caught fire as both public and private organizations have pledged to put their faith in victims of sexual assault.

The Provo Police Department joined the ranks publicly Wednesday, announcing the advent of its own "Start By Believing" campaign.

"If (victims) choose to tell someone what happened to them, that first response can really make a difference," said Kortney Hughes, supervisor of victim services for Provo police. "If your first response, rather than, ‘How much were you drinking?’ or ‘What were you wearing?’ is, ‘I believe you. How can I help you?’ We’re going to get much more reporting.”

In addition to increasing reporting rates, Hughes said a successful implementation of "Start By Believing" policies could lead to lower rates of assault. The average offender victimizes six women before being brought to justice, she said, so encouraging early reporting reduces opportunities for further crime.

The message of victim support of "Start By Believing" dovetailed perfectly with Take Back the Night's larger goals, Green said.

"It was a very easy partnership for us to piggyback off of," said Green, who is on track to graduate with her master's degree in public administration this semester. "We can help start by believing, we can help take back the night, and we can help raise awareness."

Wednesday's march began at the U. before descending to 1300 East, with roughly 50 demonstrators marching 2.8 miles to a rally at Westminster College.

Romero marched with students before delivering a short speech on the importance of community education.

"Many times when we talk about sexual assault, we put the responsibility strictly on women," she said, "and we don’t look to educating our men as well."

"My biggest message is that we also need to teach our young men that it’s not OK to rape and … talk to them about what consent is. At the end of the day, that’s the only way we’ll stop the culture of sexual assault and sexual violence." Email: aoligschlaeger@deseretnews.com Twitter: allisonoctober

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