April Is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM)
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). This year's campaign will champion the power of asking for consent. "I Ask" is the statement by which individuals can demonstrate that asking for consent is healthy, normal, and a necessary part of everyday interactions. We want to empower everyone to put consent into practice!
Sexual Assault Awareness Month Events
April 1–5, Noon–1 p.m., HUB, Tabling Events
Come speak with students and staff about Take Back the Night and SAAM! Also, feel free to pick up some “I Ask for Consent” palm cards and “I Ask for Consent” stickers and buttons.
April 2 – SAAM Day of Action – WEAR TEAL & Engage in Conversations About Prevention & Consent
When we talk about prevention, we mean stopping sexual misconduct before it even has a chance to happen. Prevention is everyone’s responsibility: All of us can create and promote safe environments. We can intervene to stop concerning behavior, promote and model healthy attitudes and relationships, and support survivors and assist them in getting resources. We can engage in conversations across campus about prevention and consent. You can talk with your peers in your residence halls, teams, clubs and organizations. Spark a conversation by asking, “How can we prevent sexual misconduct?” “How can we safely intervene in situations?” “How do we ask for consent?”
April 3, 6 p.m., HUB Social Hall West, The Bystander Moment Film Screening & Post-discussion
The #MeToo movement has shined a light on the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and abuse and created demand for gender-violence prevention models, such as the innovative bystander approach. This 50-minute film will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Healthy Masculinity Initiatives Coordinators Jason Brode and Dorothy Andrews. Title IX Coordinator Kat Matic will also discuss the bystander-education model at Dickinson and how individuals can access bystander education training. Light refreshments available.
April 8, Noon-1 p.m., HUB Mary Dickinson Room, Bring Your Lunch & Learn - How to Be an Ally!
Have you ever wondered what to say after someone discloses that they are in an unhealthy or abusive relationship? Do you know the resources and accommodations that are available? Advocates from the YWCA Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Services & Domestic Violence Services will discuss and provide information on how to support and be an ally when someone you know has or is experiencing relationship abuse or sexual violence. If you are interested in learning more, join us and become empowered with the knowledge, awareness and skills needed to be actively involved in the movement to end sexual and intimate partner violence. All Dickinson students, faculty and staff are welcome at this event.
April 10, 6:30 p.m., Allison Great Hall - Take Back the Night
Take Back the Night honors all who are impacted by sexual and relationship violence and is an opportunity for our entire community to recommit to creating a culture where sexual and interpersonal violence no longer exists. Student speakers will share their stories and experiences and guest speaker Maria Amato Acker ’93 will share how she was impacted by an incident while at Dickinson College, which led to a journey of self-healing and a career working at the U.S. Department Office of Justice. After the speakers, a candlelight vigil will be led by Donna Hughes, director of the Center for Spirituality & Social Justice. Counselors from our Wellness Center and advocates from the Carlisle YWCA Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis program and Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland and Perry Counties will be present.
8-10 p.m., Landis House - Coping and Comfort
After Take Back the Night events, the student leadership of Don’t Conceal to Heal will provide quiet arts activities to offer supportive space and comfort to individuals.
April 16, 7 p.m., Stern 102, The Tale Film Screening & Post-discussion
The Tale is a film written and directed by Jennifer Fox and based on Fox’s own survival of sexual abuse as a young teenager. Fox, the film’s protagonist, searches her memory to investigate her first sexual relationship. The film showcases dialogue between the adult Fox and the 13-year old version of herself. As a child, she wrote a story for her 8th-grade creative-writing class and, at that time, claimed it was fiction. Encountering the story again as an adult, after her mother finds the story, Jennifer begins a long road to a shocking realization of the sexual abuse she experienced as a child. This film will be introduced by Psychology Club students and a post-discussion will be facilitated by Lecturer in Psychology Michelle Ford. Light refreshments available.
April 23, Noon-1 p.m., HUB Side Room 202, Bring Your Lunch & Learn – How to Navigate the Love Labyrinth
Have you even found yourself trying to escape the confusing maze of an unhealthy or abusive relationship? In an abusive relationship, sometimes it can feel like you’re trapped, with no way out. Even the tiniest of behaviors from your partner can impact your self-esteem, independence and ability to recognize the relationship you deserve. The video Love Labyrinth shows us how not all abuse is as obvious as physical abuse, and that there are other behaviors that are just as abusive but not as easy to recognize. Come watch and help us start the conversation about unhealthy red flags in relationships. We will have advocates from the YWCA Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Services and Domestic Violence Services lead this very important conversation using the One Love Foundation’s Love Labyrinth program. To learn more about One Love visit: https://www.joinonelove.org/. All Dickinson students are welcome.
April 24 - Denim Day
For the past 20 years, Peace Over Violence has run its Denim Day campaign. The campaign began after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because it was determined the victim was wearing tight jeans and must have helped the respondent remove her jeans, implying consent. The next day, women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. To learn more, visit https://www.peaceoverviolence.org/denim-day. On Wednesday, April 24, 2019 join people from across the world and wear jeans with a purpose to support survivors. To register for Denim Day 2019, go to: https://www.denimdayinfo.org/register.
April 30, 4 p.m., Althouse 206, #MeToo Episode of We Are Man Enough
How can we learn from #MeToo to shape the next generation of men? We will watch the We are Man Enough episode that brings together some of the most recognizable faces from Hollywood to have deep conversations about what it means to be a man today. The diverse cast features Justin Baldoni, Matt McGorry, Jamey Heath, Lewis Howes, Scooter Braun, Tony Porter, Karen Alston, Alma Gonzalez and Yazmin Monet Watkins ’09. The topics include the role men play in society today, including male ideas surrounding happiness, feminism, fatherhood, marriage and body image. The episode will be followed by a post-discussion facilitated by Healthy Masculinity Initiatives Coordinators Jason Brode and Dorothy Andrews.
Published March 29, 2019