Through the Saturday evening rain, women and men met at the steps of the Capitol for Take Back the Night, a rally to end sexual violence.
\It's sort of a shame that this event has to happen on a rainy night,"" said Steve Montagna of Men Stopping Rape, ""but then again, it's sort of a shame that the event has to happen in the first place.""
Montagna said sexual violence is not just a women's issue, but an issue concerning men as well.
""What's missing, especially for men, is the connection between sexual assault and the larger arena of our behavior as a culture,"" Montagna said.
To explain what is going on in our culture, Montagna used the example of the wardrobe malfunction at last year's Super Bowl.
Justin Timberlake ripping away part of Janet Jackson's bodice was a simulated sexual assault, Montagna said.
""Sexual assault applies to a variety of behavior, not just intercourse,"" said Montagna. ""So I'm not exaggerating by using that label in this instance.""
Montagna said our culture also uses women to sell everything and we hold them responsible for the behavior of men. If women act a certain way men cannot control themselves, he said.
""So the logic follows, women better be careful how they act, how they dress, where they go, what they drink or what they do with their drink,"" he said. ""Apparently we aren't up to talking to our boys about their behavior.""
For the keynote address, Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, delivered a message emphasizing the necessity for equality to end sexual violence.
""Sexual assault is, of course, the violent assertion of male dominance in a democratic society that should be marked by equality,"" Lawton said.
As the first female Lt. Governor of Wisconsin, Lawton stressed that women need to be in the political office in order to have equal opportunity and equal representation.
""Since rapists think of their victims as objects, I agree with Lawton that in order to end sexual violence, we need to have equal representation in the work force so men would be more likely to value us as real people and not as objects,"" said UW-Madison sophomore Bridget Schigoda.
Lawton also talked about violence of sexual assault as a human rights issue.
""[Government's role] is to protect the human and civil rights of all people in a free society, and that includes women,"" Lawton said.
She said women should be able to live without fear of sexual assault. This will only be accomplished when our practices and policies demand equity and show how we value women.
""When we establish [women] as full, autonomous citizens, then we may begin to see an end of the violence against women,"" Lawton said.
