It’s Valentine’s Day - time for flowers and candy, a nice dinner and romance…but not for everyone.
Some Rapid City residents are planning to take part in a worldwide vigil this evening to raise public awareness of rape and sexual assault.
Carol Merwyn is a retired school teacher. She’s also a woman on a mission - ever since she read a United Nations report that 1 in 3 women in the world can expect to be raped or sexually assaulted.
“Something needs to be done, but I think until people are aware, nothing happens,:” says Merwyn.
To raise awareness of those numbers, and the 496 rapes that occurred in South Dakota in 2011, Merwyn organized a vigil at Sixth and Main in Rapid City tonight.
Besides posting public notices on the gathering, Merwyn also called 75 Rapid City churches for their support. Most listened…
“But there were a few who seemed very cautious,” Merwyn says..”And wanted to know what organization I was with. And this is…I’m…it’s not about sponsored by an organization…and I can’t imagine that it would matter. This is against sexual assault and rape.”
And Carol Merwyn wonders how anyone could be against that.