April Is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). The goal of SAAM is to raise public awareness about sexual harassment, assault, and abuse and educate communities on how to prevent it. As a chapter officer, you can help by raising awareness both in the chapter and your community, by educating members about sexual violence, and by supporting survivors. Below are some resources to get you started.
Raise Awareness
“I Ask” Campaign
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center has a variety of resources, including educational tools like infographics, social media graphics, handouts, and more. This year’s SAAM campaign theme is “I Ask”, which centers around consent.
- Find graphics and resources at nsvrc.org/saam
Denim Day is April 29, 2020
Wear jeans for a purpose, support survivors, and educate yourself and others about all forms of sexual violence. This campaign started after an 18-year old Italian girl was raped, and her perpetrator’s conviction was overturned citing that because she was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped him remove the jeans, thereby indicating they had consensual sex. Women of the Italian Parliament launched a protest over the verdict, wearing jeans on the steps of the Italian Supreme Court. Several years later, in 1999, the first Denim Day was held in the US and has been continued annually since.
- Learn more at denimdayinfo.org
Educate AOII Members
What If Bears Killed One in Five People?
This quick and humorous video is a great introduction to chapter conversations about sexual violence and highlights why it’s important to take care of those around us.
- Watch the video at youtube.com/watch?v=LNVFPkmZTQ4
Bystander Intervention
Educating members on the importance of bystander intervention is an important tool in creating cultural change on your campus. It’s on Us has created a presentation and several other tools, which can be used to educate your chapter about bystander intervention.
- Find the presentation here itsonus.org/toolkit/educational-tools/
Speak Up
LaunchPoint Consulting and CampusSpeak are partnering to offer this online course in honor of SAAM. This course covers a variety of topics, including speaking up against sexual violence, identifying unhealthy relationships, consent, survivor support, and more.
- Check out the Speak Up course at launchpointlearning.com/courses/SUP
Support Survivors
Tips for Talking with Survivors of Sexual Assault
It’s not always easy to know what to say when someone tells you they’ve been sexually assaulted. RAINN compiled specific phrases, recommended by their National Sexual Assault Hotline staff, to be supportive through a survivor’s healing process.
- Find the resource here rainn.org/articles/tips-talking-survivors-sexual-assault
Know your Campus Resources
Your campus likely has a multitude of resources available for supporting survivors, reporting incidents, and educating members. The more your chapter members know what tools are available to them, the better you can support survivors of sexual violence.
Learn more by visiting your campus’ Title IX, campus counseling and Dean of Students/Student Life offices online or by checking the Campus Resource Information Card sent to your chapter.