April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), a time to raise public awareness about sexual violence and educate communities on how to end it. The University’s Title IX Office is hosting a number of SAAM events throughout the month to bring awareness to the issue of sexual assault, and inform the community of the resources available to everyone, which include learning skills to prevent sexual misconduct.
Learn more about SAAM through the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC).
Throughout April, teal ribbons will be available at Taylor Hall 21A for people to wear and show their support to sexual assault survivors.
Rush Rhees Library will again be the site of Mailbox of Hope messages, where everyone is encouraged to write a note to all sexual assault survivors letting them know there is support for them. The notes will be displayed in Rush Rhees library from April 1-12.
The Clothesline Project invites members of the University community to design t-shirts that will create a visual display of the real impacts of sexual assault and interpersonal abuse, and to pay homage to victims and survivors. Shirts will be displayed outside of the Goergen Athletic Center April 9-11 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
“The Clothesline Project is a nationwide event that helps promote visibility, education, and action around the issues of sexual violence and abuse on campuses,” said Tiffany Street, assistant director for educational outreach in the Title IX Office. “The University invites everyone to use the t-shirts to make a strong personal statement about sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, sexual harassment, or abuse perceived on race, sexual orientation, and/or disability.” Survivors and allies are asked to tell their stories on t-shirts using words, artwork, and/or decorations.
An outdoor display of 720 flags, each representing one of the 720 people sexually assaulted every day in the United States will go on display April 15-17 near Dandelion Square. Hosted by RESTORE, the small orange flags represent a stark statistic: every two minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. That’s 720 people every day.
RESTORE Sexual Assault Services holds hours on River Campus for students to meet with college advocates. RESTORE services are free and confidential. For more information, visit https://restoresas.org.
For more information on sexual misconduct prevention, see https://www.rochester.edu/sexualmisconduct/prevention.html.
