Chuck Kirman / Star staff Kyle Olson receives information at the welcome table from volunteer Fran Martinet at CSU Channel Islands' first Take Back the Night event. The sexual assault awareness event included speakers, a campus empowerment march and candlelight vigil.

For Elise Martinet, talking about the rape that traumatized her five years ago has given her strength and helped her make the transition from victim to survivor.

"The more I share about my experiences the stronger I get, and I feel I help other women open up," Martinet said. "It breaks my heart that so many of us suffer alone."

The 24-year-old Martinet was one of the speakers and organizers of the first Take Back the Night at CSU Channel Islands on Tuesday.

More than 100 students and others joined Martinet for an "empowerment march" and candlelight vigil aimed at increasing awareness about rape, sexual assault and violence against women. The event was held in conjunction with CSUCI's second annual Sexual Assault Awareness Week.

Martinet told the audience she had spent a night out drinking with friends and asked a male companion to walk her home. He raped her.

"At the time, I was scared and ashamed," Martinet said in an interview before Tuesday's event. "I think I've come a long way."

The rape occurred when she was 19 and living in a dorm at another state college. She transferred to CSUCI a few years ago because she felt it was a safer campus.

According to the CSUCI Police Department's annual security report, there was one reported on-campus rape from 2004 to 2006. There were no reported sexual assaults or batteries.

However, statistics indicate that college-age women from 18 to 24 are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than other women, according to Lynn Parrish, a spokesperson with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Nearly 25 percent of the victims of reported rapes are also in that age range.

She said events like Take Back the Night are important because they increase awareness about the problem and empower women.

"It helps young women understand there are things they can do to reduce their risk," Parrish said. She recommends that women trust their instincts and remove themselves from situations that do not feel right. She also suggested using the buddy system when going out, to "watch your friend's back."

At the event, Todd Henneman, the assistant director for the Center for Women and Men Student Affairs at USC, urged men to be more proactive in stopping sexual assault and rape.

"We all know the bad guy in our group," said Henneman, the keynote speaker. "You need to make an effort to stop him from victimizing women."

CSUCI Police Lt. Michael Morris said the university takes sexual assault awareness "very seriously."

"It's very important to us," Morris said. He said the university is proud of its Rape Aggression Defense System program, a 12-week course offered free to students and faculty. It teaches self-defense tactics and risk reduction and avoidance.

CSUCI is one of several colleges that participate in Take Back the Night. According to the group's Web site, the concept made its debut in the United States in 1978, when protesters in San Francisco invoked the slogan after an anti-pornography conference. Today, "survivor speakouts" are common at Take Back the Night rallies.