April may be known for spring showers, but it’s also for more serious things as well, including Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The awareness month started with a group of women in England in the 1970s. They called their walking protests against sexual violence “Take Back the Night” marches. These marches have gained popularity across the globe, in the United States and at the U (with students holding a similar event last Wednesday). To further promote the month, ASUU, the Center of Student Wellness and U fraternities are working together to raise awareness through a series of events.
“Our major focus right now is to do sexual assault awareness training,” said Marty Liccardo, a health educator at the U’s Center for Student Wellness. “Preventing and intervention of the situation are the most important aspects.”
The It’s On Us campaign, a national effort to stop sexual assaults on college campuses, began at the U this semester. Students can pledge to do their part at asuu.utah.edu/itsonus.
The Center for Student Wellness and ASUU are also hosting bystander intervention training sessions to teach people what to do if they witness a sexual assault. Sessions will be April 11 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Spencer Fox Eccles Business Building, April 14 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Heritage Center and April 21 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Union.
“Sexual assaults occur on all campuses,” Liccardo said. “We are trying to show the reality of the situation.”
Another Sexual Assault Awareness Month event is the Clothesline Project, which addresses all forms of violence by having assault survivors write messages on t-shirts strung throughout the Union. The display will be up from April 15 to 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Liccardo hopes this event will unite different groups on campus to promote an end to sexual violence.
“We want students to know that we want to help inform them and protect them,” Liccardo said. “We want to make sure that they know that there are resources and people here to help them, whether academically or socially.”
The Center for Student Wellness also has a sexual assault support advocate to help students who have experienced this kind of trauma. The advocate provides the student with outside resources and support and teaches him or her how to work with the university and the criminal justice system.
Vanessa Luong, a freshman in communication, supports the It’s On Us campaign and looks forward to the upcoming awareness month events.
“I think the U is great for bringing awareness to the problem,” Luong said.
@chriswritine