More than 100 candles burned against the fading daylight as the sun set on men and women from the Ames and ISU communities determined to take Wednesday night back from violence.

Take Back the Night, in its 11th year on campus, attracted about 150 people to the Memorial Union terrace to remember victims and to support survivors of sexual assault and violence.

Teresa Branch, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, said Ames and Iowa State have “come a long way” in increasing safety with improved lighting on campus and the creation of the Story County Sexual Assault Response Team.

Branch said improvement of services for victims and education efforts must continue at Iowa State.

“The most important message an institution of higher education can communicate is that violence against women will not be tolerated,” she said.

Haley Kauffman, sexual assault survivor and Ames resident, spoke at the rally. Kauffman said she has been raped three times; once by an acquaintance, once by an ex-boyfriend and once by a masked intruder in her apartment. She went to the police only after her third rape, she said.

Kauffman said the incidents left her frightened, confused and ashamed. “It made me angry that being a woman meant I have to be afraid,” she said.

Leigh Ebbesmeyer, director of training for the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said attackers use rape as a method to assert power over, control, express anger or show a sense of entitlement to women’s bodies.

Many people think rape occurs when a stranger jumps out of an alley in the middle of the night and attacks a blond, scantily clothed woman, she said. In reality, over half of rapes occur in either the victim or attacker’s home and 85 to 90 percent occur between acquaintances.

“The media portrayal of sexual assault is most of the time inaccurate and wrong,” Ebbesmeyer said.

She said society needs to place the blame where it belongs — on the perpetrator.

“How many times have we or someone we know said, ‘She shouldn’t have been drinking,’ or, ‘She shouldn’t have gotten into the car?'” she said. “It’s a rare occurrence to hear someone say, ‘He shouldn’t have raped her.'”

Julie Wooden, sexual assault services coordinator for the ACCESS Assault Care Center, said she was pleased with the diverse turnout of the audience, which included both men and women.

“It shows sexual violence is not just a women’s issue,” she said.

A silent march and candlelight vigil on the shores of Lake LaVerne followed the rally.

Laural Everist-Lambert, senior in political science, said the luminaries, signs and drumline that accompanied the marchers sent an important message.

“I think actions speak louder than words, and the traffic on Lincoln Way will take notice,” she said.

As marchers lined up in the streets to bring their message to Campustown and the greek neighborhood, Kauffman concluded her story by reminding victims of sexual assault and violence not to let others discourage them from speaking out. “Tell your story and never stop telling it,” she said.