April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and UA’s Women and Gender Resource Center is hosting a variety of educational programs for the UA campus community.
One in three women and nearly one in six men will experience some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime, and nearly one in two transgender individuals will experience sexual violence at some point in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey and the 2015 U.S. Transgender Study.
The response a survivor receives after sharing their experience with sexual assault can make a big impact, and the Women and Gender Resource Center wants it to be a positive one.
“Each April we facilitate conversations and host programs on sexual assault with the goal of connecting our campus community to education on interpersonal violence and survivor resources,” said Allison Kumar, peer education programs coordinator for WGRC. “Our students, faculty and staff may be with us at UA for a limited time, but regardless of where they go, they will encounter those who have experienced sexual assault. We want to equip our community to be supportive of those at UA and beyond by being knowledgeable on this topic.”
“We want to equip our community to be supportive of those at UA and beyond by being knowledgeable on this topic.”
The WGRC kicked off its events on April 1 with a teal ribbon tabling event, where student leaders distributed teal ribbons and promoted the month’s events, including a favorite event that has taken place at UA for nearly four decades.
“On April 21 we are excited to host our annual Take Back the Night event, which we’ve had on campus since the 1980s,” Kumar said. “This will be a space to hear survivor voices, discuss our call to action in ending sexual violence and share how students can get involved and connected to campus resources. Take Back the Night will begin at 6 p.m. at Denny Chimes.”
A number of other events will take place throughout the month.
- WGRC Teal Tabling: April 7, 8 and 9, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., WGRC student leaders will be distributing teal ribbons and promoting the WGRC’s services and calendar of events for Sexual Assault Awareness month, or SAAM, outside of the Ferguson Student Center.
- SAAM Pop Culture Trivia: April 7 at 6 p.m., a discussion on sexual assault in the media in a trivia-style event.
- Harbor Training: April 16 at 9 a.m., faculty, staff and graduate students have an opportunity to develop their knowledge of resources available to victims of sexual assault in a Harbor training session, co-sponsored by Manderson Women in Business.
- Take Back the Night: April 21 at 6 p.m., members of the UA community will speak out against sexual violence and share resources and support for survivors.
- Every Woman Book Club: April 29 at noon, a discussion on “The Power” by Naomi Alderman
- Every Student Book Club: April 29 at 5 p.m., a discussion on “Just Listen” by Sarah Dessen
For more information, visit the WGRC events calendar.
Contact
Melissa Parker, UA communications, melissa.parker@ua.edu