Campus events planned for National Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Stanford’s SHARE Title IX Office has planned a series of events for the month of April in recognition of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Campus events include the annual Take Back the Night rally, march, and speak-out on April 16 and Denim Day on April 24.
The purpose of the national SAAM campaign is to raise public awareness about sexual violence and promote prevention through education and collective action.
This year’s theme for SAAM is “Building Connected Communities.” According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, focusing on community building to prevent sexual assault is powerful because “community creates a sense of belonging and reminds us of how our beliefs, choices, and actions impact one another.”
Each year during SAAM, the SHARE Title IX Office highlights communities that have worked to end sexual violence and support survivors. This year SHARE is shifting from community highlights to focus more on a community that has been underserved or unrecognized in campus resources and sexual violence discourses: international students. Learn more on the SAAM at Stanford website.
Stanford events in support of SAAM include:
- Take Back the Night poster making session and lunch for graduate students, April 9, noon–1 p.m., Kingscote Gardens; RSVP
- Take Back the Night poster making and tabling, April 11, noon–2 p.m., White Plaza
- Take Back the Night rally, march, and speak-out, April 16, 7–10 p.m., Meyer Green
- Denim Day, April 24, 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., White Plaza
More information and events can be found on the SAAM at Stanford website.
History of the SAAM campaign
The SAAM campaign was launched in 2001 by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). NSVRC’s mission is to provide research and tools for advocates working on the frontlines to end sexual harassment, assault, and abuse with the understanding that ending sexual violence also means ending all forms of oppression. In 2009, under the Obama administration, April was recognized as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
For more information about SAAM 2024 at Stanford, visit the website.