Police in Burlington are on the lookout for a man who tried to assault an 18-year-old woman on the night of Friday, April 7th. Police say the woman was grabbed from behind and pulled into an alley near King and Saint Paul Street. Authorities say she was able to fight off her attacker and run away. Police are asking for the public's help in finding the man. The attacker is described as a middle aged white man with dark hair around his chin. Anyone with information is asked to call Burlington Police.

Also, according to NewsChannel 5, A former police officer has been charged with attempting to kidnap a woman at gunpoint. Police arrested 36-year-old marc fontaine, after students at trinity college called 9-1-1; saying, he was trying to force a woman into a truck. Police say the 2 have had a relationship. Fontaine, a former St. Johnsbury police officer and Caledonia county sheriff's deputy, is now facing domestic assault, kidnapping & stalking charges. The woman wasn't hurt.

It's incidents like these prompted an event Saturday night, April 8^th, on Church Street. Over 100 people marched in downtown Burlington to raise awareness; and, advocate abuse and violence prevention. Over 100 women and men together took part in the "Take back the night" annual event to raise awareness and stop violence against women. As they yelled slogans like "Hey hey ho ho violence against women has got to go," and "2, 4, 6, 8, no more date rape." The group marched around side streets, met at Elmwood Avenue and then marched Church Street from Pearl Street to City Hall, where they formed to hear speakers on the front lines of the issue.

Celia of the Women's Rape Crisis Center says, "Many here today have been the victim of violence or rape." Women shared stories and lessons learned. One woman said, "I was 17. He was 26. We were on a date. It took me a long time to think it was rape. It took me even longer time to understand it."

Among the speakers was Vermont Secretary of State, Deborah. She encouraged women to make a difference and reminded them of a Vermont State Senator who did make a difference. The woman was Susan. As many of us remember, Susan had went public with her story of how she was raped by a man, and humiliated by the justice system, and then terrorized by the suspect after he fell through the cracks of the judicial system. With her story, Sue (and other women probably contacting their state legislators), women had persuaded the legislature it was time to radically change the laws governing the prosecuting and trials of rapists. Susan went on to become a senator in the Vermont State Senate.. Deborah also told the crowd about a time when it was perfectly legal for a husband to rape his wife. I asked Deborah for a softcopy of her speech for the magazine. She said she could not. She did her speech off the top of her head and did not have ANY time to be writing any stories or editorials.

After the speak-out, the organizers invited people to come into the City Hall Auditorium and see the shirts and brochures on display. Organizers say they feel the event has made a difference in victims' lives for many years; and, it will continue as long as there are women in danger. I invited a number of women there to share their stories anonymously in the web magazine; but, so far none have chosen to do so.