April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the NC State Women’s Center is putting on many free and interactive events throughout the month to raise awareness and provide education about topics surrounding sexual assault.
“The goal of Sexual Assault Awareness Month is to raise awareness about and to focus attention on ways to prevent sexual violence,” said Lisa LaBarbera-Mascote, interim director at the Women’s Center. “We all have a role in interrupting the cultural attitudes and norms, which reinforce the rape culture we live in. Ending sexual violence is everyone’s responsibility.”
New to Sexual Assault Awareness Month at NC State this year is the “Carry that Weight” event, a campaign inspired by Emma Sulkowicz, a student at Columbia University. Sulkowicz carried her mattress around campus to protest how the university handled her sexual assault complaint. Students can drop by Stafford Commons Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to take a picture with a mattress to raise awareness.
Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in 2203 SAS Hall, University of California at Berkeley alumna Sofie Karasek, a survivor and activist, will speak. Karasek is the director of education and co-founder of End Rape on Campus, an advocacy group working to end sexual assault on college campuses. She will be discussing her role in the documentary “The Hunting Ground: Campus Activism and Ending Rape on Campus.”
The events kicked off last Tuesday, with an “It’s On Us” information table set up in Talley Student Union where students were encouraged to sign the It’s On Us pledge, which is “a personal commitment to help keep women and men safe from sexual assault” and “a promise not to be a bystander to the problem, but to be a part of the solution,” according to the Its On Us website.
LaBarbera-Mascote hopes that this month’s scheduled events will encourage students to participate, talk about issues of sexual assault with their peers and become active participants in putting an end to the issue. Beyond this month, students can get involved through groups like The Movement, a peer education group that facilitates workshops on gender equity and social justice.
The rest of the month is full of events, workshops and gatherings. This week, the Women’s Center will be hosting T-shirt painting sessions for The Clothesline Project, a national campaign for survivors to express their emotions by decorating a T-shirt. The decorated shirts will be on display at Take Back the Night, which will take place April 21, from 7–9 p.m. Students can stop by on Monday, Thursday and Friday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. of this week to decorate a shirt.
LaBarbera-Mascote hopes that April’s events will raise awareness and start dialogue within the NC State community, creating an attitude in which students and faculty will “confront behaviors that reinforce and support sexual violence.”
Take Back the Night will finish off NC State’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Stafford Commons as the largest event of the month. The first Take Back the Night marches took place in the mid-1970s. The tradition has since been continued as a way for survivors of sexual assault to reclaim the night and share their stories.
Carry that weight
Wednesday, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., Stafford Commons
The Women’s Center is hosting an event in honor of Emma Sulkowicz, a Columbia University student who carried a mattress around with her as long as her rapist continued to attend the university. Students can take photos with the mattress in support of her efforts.
Crime and punishments: real talk about sexual violence
Wednesday, 6–7:30 p.m., SAS 2106
This event will have a speaker from the Wake District Attorney’s Office who will explain sexual violence laws and the meaning on consent to students.
clothesline project t-shirt painting
Thursday, 9–11 a.m. and Friday noon-4 p.m., Talley 5210
The Clothesline Project addresses the issue of violence aganist women and provides outreach to men and women affected by sexual violence. At the event, attendees have the opportunity to paint T-shirts that express their emotions towards sexual assault.
Denim day information table
Tuesday, 11 a.m.–1p.m., Wolf Plaza
Member’s of the Women’s Center will pass out information and buttons about National Denim Day, which is on April 29.
