April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and The University of Alabama’s Women and Gender Resource Center is hosting events that arm the UA campus community with information on how to be an advocate against sexual violence.
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.
Jackie Northrup, assistant director of the WGRC, acknowledges it is an uncomfortable topic, but wants the UA community to know the campus is engaged in addressing the issue.
“We have a lot of services for survivors year-round and this month we have a lot of good events lined up.”
Zoë Winston, WGRC coordinator, said she hopes the events will enable members of the UA community to feel comfortable referring their friends to resources, to be supportive of survivors and to become knowledgeable about preventing sexual violence.
“One of the things we’re particularly excited about is on April 9 we have our annual ‘Take Back the Night’ event, which we’ve had on campus since the 1980s,” Winston said. “It’s a great opportunity to hear survivor voices, to find out what students are doing to address the issue and how students can get involved.
The “Take Back the Night” march will begin at 7 p.m. at Denny Chimes. Signs will be provided and flameless candles will be available for a short candlelight vigil in honor of survivors of sexual assault.
“We will have a roundtable discussion on how to support survivors, a panel on Alabama’s sexual assault laws, a panel exploring the issue of sexual assault in trans communities, and we’ll hear from different perspectives on the impact of that. This is an opportunity for people to hear expert voices and to learn more about things they might not be well versed on.”
On April 15 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in 205 Gorgas Library, there will be a film screening and discussion on the documentary “Roll Red Roll,” about the events that unfolded around a 2012 rape case in Steubenville, Ohio, where an unconscious high school girl was sexually assaulted by her peers, who filmed it and then shared it on social media.
On April 18, the WGRC will host Harbor Training, open to all faculty, staff and graduate students. Harbor training is offered each month and gives instruction on how to create safe places on campus for victims of sexual violence, stalking and harassment.
While Sexual Assault Awareness Month had been unofficially recognized nationally for decades, in 2009 then-President Barack Obama officially declared April Sexual Assault Awareness Month.