Men and women unite to end sexual violence

Every April, victim advocates, campus activists, educators, and community officials unite to commemorate Sexual Assault Awareness Month with rallies, speak-outs, public displays, and educational forums.

This year, students and community members have planned a series of events and a media campaign to encourage public awareness and action.

Students will coordinate a public display on Bascom Mall each Wednesday during the month to focus on the prevalence of sexual and dating violence on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. National data indicates that as many as one in five college women experience sexual assault by the time they graduate.

“We used to only talk about sexual assault and dating violence as problems that affected the victim and her family,” says Carmen Hotvedt, University Health Service (UHS) violence prevention specialist.

“In our educational efforts, we never forget the detrimental impact sexual violence has on individuals. But now, we also focus our energies on root causes of sexual violence by examining gender construction, working with men as leaders, and talking about consent. Sexual violence affects everyone.”

A list of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) events follows:

• Wednesday, April 5: Presentation by Sex Signals, a nationally touring improvisational performance duo that engages college students to re-think their ideas about sexual assault, consent, and dating. Sex Signals was recently nominated by readers of Campus Activities Magazine for the 2006 Speaker of the Year Award and is sponsored by Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (PAVE). The presentation will be at 7p.m. in the Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium.
• Tuesday, April 18: SAAM Poetry Slam. Poets are invited to express their visions of gender justice in a judged poetry slam from 6-9 p.m. on the 2nd floor of the Red Gym.
• Friday, April 21: Consent and Condom Crawl. Students participate in a community-wide, 24-hour truce on sexual violence by distributing condoms and information about getting consent from sexual partners. The event will start at 10 p.m. on State Street. Contact eldrake@wisc.edu for more information.
• Friday, April 21: Be Strong, Be Proud: Women and Power. A student-led spoken word event with ELLA (Educated Leading Ladies Association), a Latina student organization, and PAVE, will be held from 8-10 p.m. at the Memorial Union.
• Saturday, April 22: Carnival Night fundraiser to benefit the Dane County Rape Crisis Center, sponsored by Liz Waters Residence Hall. Play bingo, fishing for prizes and other fun games while eating funnel cakes, popcorn, and cotton candy. The fundraiser will be from 7p.m.-midnight, Upper Carson Gulley Commons (across the circle from Tripp Hall), $3 for 5 tickets. Contact (608) 262-8024 for more information.

In addition, UHS and PAVE have created a poster that is available for campus offices and community organizations to display. Copies of the poster are available by contacting Hotvedt at hotvedt@wisc.edu or (608) 265-5966.

Additional events in the Dane County area are being coordinated by the Rape Crisis Center, a free and confidential service provider for survivors (and families/friends) of all forms of sexual violence. For more information, call (608) 251-5126.

For more information on sexual assault prevention resources on the UW–Madison campus, call (608) 265-5966.