On Tuesday, silenced victims of sexual violence shared their stories.

Some women described how they were raped. Some wrote poems to describe their assailants. Some even spoke of children murdered from sexual violence.

With permanent marker and paint, more than 125 colored T-shirts told the stories of past and present survivors of sexual violence. The messages fluttered in the wind at Beaumont Field as music by Ani DiFranco and the Dixie Chicks played in the background.

Community members came together for Take Back the Night, an annual event to combat sexual violence. Since 1973, Take Back the Night has concentrated on issues surrounding rape, sexual assault and domestic violence.

"For me, this is a day to raise awareness on sexual assault and say, 'Yes, sexual assault does exist, and, yes, we're outraged by it,'" said Travis Reed, a graduate student who helped plan the event.

The Clothesline Project exhibited T-shirts made by and about female victims of ritual abuse, incest or child sexual abuse survivors and other types of sexual violence.

Communication senior Courtney Tell and marketing and communication junior Randi Schaefer went to the event after seeing fliers around campus. Schaefer was particularly interested because of her specialty in women's gender and social justice.

However, Tell related to the project in a different way.

"My mom was abused sexually and physically, so it kind of hits home in that aspect," she said.

Both women agreed that the most powerful T-shirt was one created by a child.

The T-shirts are a source of empowerment, Schaefer said.

"Women don't share for you to feel sorry for them," she said. "They show you can be strong as a woman."

This year's theme is everyone is affected by sexual violence, said Jackie Roman, an interdisciplinary studies in social science and community relations junior, and member of Women's Council.

"It is about forming a community that supports and creates a safe space for survivors of sexual violence," Roman said. "It breaks the silence about the issue."

MSU groups such as Listening Ear, the MSU sexual assault program and Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention volunteers wore name tags throughout the day so they could be visible to those who had experienced sexual violence or knew someone who had.

Take Back the Night coordinator Lydia Weiss felt it was a woman's duty to speak out against sexual violence.

"It's important for anyone to know about," Weiss, a sociology junior, said. "It's so prevalent in this society. If you're not educated, you're perpetuating stereotypes and excuses, and it won't stop."

Weiss said the media constantly objectifies women, making them appear as victims. She added that such objectification plays into violence being perpetuated against women.

She also said rape is about power and control, not sex.

"A lot of the times, what is being represented is that women are just something that you can control, and they're nothing more than just a body or a short shirt," Weiss said.

Roman said the day is about celebrating survivors of sexual violence and combating rape culture.

"Rape culture is the ways in which our culture promotes violence against women," Roman said, adding that books, movies and certain jokes normalize and condone violence against women.

Weiss said training people that "no means no" is a step in the right direction.

MSU's undergraduate government, ASMSU, brought Nandi Crosby as the keynote speaker of the event. Crosby is an author who researches sexual violence. A candlelight vigil and men's forum were held as well.

"It's a great program that empowers women on the issue of rape and preventing rape," said Ryan McKnight, ASMSU's vice chairperson of programming and international relations junior. "It works to inform men to open dialogue."

Activists ended the night with a march, from Beaumont Field to the 54-B District Court. Along the way, they planned to stop at five locations where they chanted 13 demands to the public. The demands spoke of the right to know the names of sexual offenders in dorms and neighborhoods, as well as adequate prosecution for all assailants.

MSU alumna Julia Herzog, who helped plan the day, said that the courthouse symbolizes a lack of justice to rape victims.

"The march gives women a space to have a voice, to tell them they can publicly have an opinion about this," she said. Herzog called it "safety in numbers."