University to Recognize Sexual Assault Awareness Month
According to the Department of Justice, it is estimated that one in four college women will survive a sexual assault or attempted assault during their college years. The Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Program at The University of Toledo is working to change that statistic.
National Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April will be recognized at UT with a series of events designed to shed light on the issue of sexual violence and let people know there are ways to make a difference.
One of the highlights of the month will be the 17th Annual Take Back the Night event when hundreds of people rally together to call for an end to violence against women, including sexual and intimate partner violence, stalking and sexual harassment.
Take Back the Night will start at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at the Eastern Community YMCA in Oregon, Ohio. The event will include a Community Rally, a Women’s March, a Women’s Survivor Speak Out, a Men’s Program, a Resource Fair and the Clothesline Project.
The Clothesline Project is comprised of more than 200 shirts created by local survivors of violence. It will be displayed at the event along with the Silent Witness Project, which is a group of silhouettes remembering northwest Ohio women murdered by intimate partners. The displays and resource fair open at 6 p.m., and the community rally will begin at 7 p.m. A free shuttle bus will depart from the Transportation Center on Main Campus at 6 p.m. to take people to the YMCA and will make the return trip at 10:30 p.m.
“One of the things people can do to help end sexual violence is to educate themselves about the issues,” said Diane Docis, coordinator of the UT Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Program. “There are many ways to do that throughout the month by attending events that are not only educational, but also creative, interactive and activism-focused.”
The University will hold the following events on campus to promote awareness:
Monday, April 4 — Decoration of shirts for Clothesline Project, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Rocket Hall Room 1619.
Tuesday, April 5 — National Sexual Assault Awareness Month Day of Action. Shirts from the Clothesline Project will be on display from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Student Union South Lounge. At noon there will be poetry about sexual violence, activism and women’s empowerment; pizza will be served.
Thursday, April 7 — Eberly Center for Women brown-bag discussion on “Toledo’s Take Back the Night: 16 Years of Local, Grassroots Feminist Activism” at 12:30 p.m. in Tucker Hall Room 0180. Discussion facilitated by Dr. Sharon Barnes, UT associate professor of women’s and gender studies.
Tuesday, April 12 — Women’s Program Initiatives brown-bag discussion on “Moving Upstream: From Traditional Prevention Messages to Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence” at noon in the Mulford Library Garden Café on Health Science Campus. Docis will facilitate the discussion.
Thursday, April 14 — Eberly Center for Women brown-bag discussion on “Recognizing and Resisting Public Sexual Harassment” at 12:30 p.m. in Libbey Hall. Topics will include how sexual harassment has impacted women’s lives and how women around the world are resisting. Docis will facilitate the discussion.
Wednesday, April 20 — Book discussion on Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape (2008) at 3:30 p.m. in University Hall Room 4180A.
For more information on Sexual Assault Awareness Month, contact the Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Program at 419.530.3432 or [email protected]. For information on Take Back the Night, visit www.ToledoTakeBackTheNight.org.
Support and information for survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence is available through the Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Program at 419.530.3431 and through the YWCA 24-hour crisis lines: Hope Center rape crisis hot line 866.557.7273 and Battered Women’s Shelter hot line 888.341.7386.
Press Release Contact Name: Meghan Cunningham
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: University of Toledo