Hundreds of women are milling around a park, some dancing, some drumming. Your eyes are filled with the sight of survivors of sexual assault, some of them laughing, some crying, but all of them strong and surviving.

''It made me realize for the first time that I might survive the pain I was going through, or at least learn to live with it,'' said Minikin Holloway, reflecting on her first Take Back the Night rally.

''It was really great, affirming, to see women of all ages, to see that they were surviving,'' Holloway, 36, said, adding, ''It gave me hope that I would be okay with my memories and not be so sad that I couldn't have a good life.''

Holloway, a survivor of child sexual assault, was 20 years old at the time of the rally, living on her own in San Francisco. The rally she attended was only two years after the initial U. S. Take Back rally and march, in 1978, which also took place in San Francisco with 5,000 women from over 30 states.

The first Take Back the Night event took place in Germany in 1973 as a response to a number of sexual assaults, rapes and murders against women. Since that time, Take Back has expanded dramatically, with activities in more locations across the globe each year.

Take Back the Night events have taken place in Missoula since 1991, with more local organizations becoming involved with each event. Holloway, who works at Sexual Assault Recovery Services, one of several UM organizations involved with Take Back, has been to three local Take Back rallies and involved in two of them, including this year's.

Thoughts on this year's rally

The rallies in San Francisco are more diverse than those in Missoula, Holloway said, including booths from political organizations, a local record company and human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International. ''Even though we do have a lot of organizations here that support human rights, not all of them support Take Back. There's less visibility of the political organizations,'' said Holloway.

The events in Missoula, Holloway noted, also tend to involve more of a grieving process. ''You'll see a lot more open crying, expressions of rage and pain. Women are still angry,'' Holloway said. When asked why, Holloway speculated that in a rural area, availability of resources and privacy concerns can be crucial issues.

''Maybe the women here are more often at the level of intense emotions, as a newer victim might be,'' said Holloway, adding, ''There's also less of an outlet for political activism. That can be a really good way to heal and re-empower yourself to help others.''

Another reason anger might be more visible at Missoula events is because of the way local events are structured. ''There are a lot more opportunities for expression of pain, like the poetry readings and open mikes, and that wasn't an option in San Francisco,'' said Holloway. ''There were performers and political speakers but not average survivors. That affects how you respond,'' Holloway added.

Individual response to violence is important, especially for survivors. A friend of Holloway's realized this and invited her to the Take Back rally in 1980. ''She just knew I was a survivor, and I needed to change my perspective on my past experiences and thought this might help. She just took my hand and stayed by my side the whole time,'' Holloway said.

The experience was a powerful one for Holloway. She said, ''I'm so moved by the strength of other women, other survivors. To see how they turn their pain into determination and grief into anger, but in a good, healing kind of way.''

The community needs as much an opportunity to respond as the survivors do. Said Holloway, ''That's what Take Back the Night is about, and why survivors as well as non-survivors need to march. It's not just about 'I've been hurt and I'm not going to be hurt again.' It's about each of us demanding the power to walk down the streets alone. And we'll support each other in that demand.''