As wind whipped wildly though the trees, a rainbow of color danced with it —a beautiful sight that told hundreds of painful stories.

Displayed proudly on a fraying rope clothesline were painted messages on T-shirts, each sharing the story of a violence or abuse survivor.

“No, Daddy No.”

“You acknowledge the horrors as part of reality, but deny these respect: sexual assault, violence, rape, molestation … sick cycle of abuse.”

“This will never happen to my baby.”

“I hurt.”

Each vibrant fabric represents a different issue: sexual abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, abuse because of sexual orientation, remembrance of those dead because of violence, and those attacked for political reasons.

Take Back the Night is an annual event at ASU meant to tell the stories, raise awareness, honor the memories and shatter the silence about sexual violence.

It is traditionally held in April, now officially known as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, as declared by President Barack Obama on April 8.

Hundreds of community members gathered for the event put on by EMPACT-SPC, a Valleywide suicide prevention and crisis trauma center, and ASU Wellness and Health Promotion.

Jessica Hageman, 28, worked to coordinate the event, which originated in London during the 1800s.

“It has historically been a campus event,” she said. “We’re here to really educate, empower and heal. It’s about awareness.”

A child-abuse survivor herself, Hageman has been involved with the event since her college years at NAU. Now she works for EMPACT-SPC in Tempe.

“There are so many kids here, and we want to send a positive message,” she said.

As visitors wandered through booths about violence prevention and counseling and read safety tips, Colleen Hogan, 47, stood proudly near one of her students, the winner of the event’s creative-expression contest.

Hogan, a seventh- and eighth-grade teacher at Crossroads Junior High and High School in Mesa, led all of her students to enter the contest and teaches them about the dangers of violence.

“They’re going to be in charge of everything later on and they don’t need to be victims of abuse,” she said.

Hogan said statistically, some of her students have probably experienced violence, citing the importance of learning about it at a young age.

“It’s all about awareness,” she said. “These kids don’t need to be victims or abusers.”

People young and old decorated signs to speak out about domestic violence and march around ASU’s Tempe campus to spread the word, many holding signs displaying messages like, “People unite, take back the night” and “Break the silence of sexual violence.”

“People don’t talk about it,” said Catherine Marrs, 36, a clinical coordinator with EMPACT-SPC’s trauma healing services department in Tempe.

“The more you talk about [violence], the better it’s going to be,” she said. “There’s a lot of shame around this issue and a lot of fear.”

Chanting is a symbolic way that the group can become louder about the issue and fight against it with words, Marrs said.

The evening ended with a candlelight vigil to remember those affected by and lost to violence or abuse.

Samantha Rauscher, a psychology and women’s and gender studies junior, attended Take Back the Night because she has been learning about abuse in class.

“No one wants to report it because they’re scared of the outcome,” she said. “I can completely understand people who never tell anyone.”

Though she said she feels safe on campus right now, Rauscher said she remembers being oblivious when she lived on campus as a freshman.

“Looking back, I can see how [violence] could happen really easily,” she said.

Lynley Chapman, a communication and women’s and gender studies junior, said she was surprised to see so many young people at the event, adding that it was a good thing.

“You’re never too young to experience violence like this and learn from it,” she said.

As the group stood in a circle for the vigil, clotheslines of T-shirts stretched across the courtyard, their messages displaying many of the same words expressed over candlelight.

On the end of one line — facing bustling University Drive as rush-hour traffic sped by — was a deep-blue shirt decorated only with a crying face and the words, “These tears are shed for you.”

Reach the reporter at tessa.muggeridge@asu.edu.