April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and Christopher Newport University (CNU) took initiatives to spread awareness and to combat this issue. The events focused on were Hour2Empower, Take Back the Night and Denim Day.
In an interview with The Captain’s Log, a panel of CNU staff members who help run initiatives discussed how they are working towards building awareness of sexual assault and harassment on campus. Panel members included Title IX Coordinator, Dr. Amy Sirocky-Meck, Assistant Director and Deputy Title IX Coordinator, Keanté Eppes, Associate Dean of Students, Brian Larson, Assistant Director of Student Accessibility and Case Management, Ashley Dillon and Assistant Director of Care Team Support and Case Management Mallory King.
The team emphasized the importance of collaboration with each other as well as throughout different departments across campus. “[We are] one united front working for the same purpose,” Mallory King said.
The panel discussed the campus engagement for these events. They claimed campus “strength” is subjective in that attendance does not matter as much as retention. “It just so happens that [Sexual Assault Awareness Month] is in April, but it doesn’t just stay in April,” Keanté Eppes said.
Hour2Empower occurred on April 10 and marked the first event for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Where’s the Line and Fear2Freedom partnered for this event, where the visitors watched a presentation about how to handle hearing about sexual assaults through bystander intervention, how to respond to someone’s story and how to take initiatives to aid in preventing sexual assault on CNU’s campus. Visitors dedicated an hour to filling iCare and AfterCare kits, which are given to sexual assault survivors who visit the Riverside Hospital and through Fear2Freedom’s office.
President Kelly made an appearance at Hour2Empower, where he helped volunteers pack iCare and AfterCare kits. AfterCare kits are given to victims of sexual abuse when they arrive at the hospital, whereas the iCare kits are a tool for survivors who may not have chosen to go to the hospital.
“I think [April is a] t ime to highlight the importance of supporting our survivors and acknowledging that this work is never done,” President Kelly said.
This April was the first time CNU took part in Take Back the Night, a nationwide event to create a conversation about survivors’ experiences. Take Back the Night was broken up into three parts, a rally at the Freeman Center to hear from survivors of sexual assault, experts and activists, a march around campus and then a speak-out back at the Freeman Center to uplift the voices of the survivors.
CNU will celebrate its second observance of National Denim Day on April 30 in coordination with the Wellness Action Team for Captain’s Health (WATCH). According to CNU’s website, “WATCH is a group of students, faculty, staff and community partners who seek to promote the institutional wellness of the CNU community through collaboration with student organizations, campus offices and academic faculty.” Chief Communications Officer Jim Hanchett said that “WATCH sponsors and hosts programs to educate the CNU community and raise awareness about health and wellness prevention topics.”
According to Denim Days’ official website, National Denim Day started 25 years ago as a protest against a court ruling in Italy. A judge determined that a rape victim was as compliant and consented to the act since she wearing tight jeans, implying the suspect would have needed assistance with the act. Supporters wearing denim on National Denim Day demonstrate solidarity with all sexual assault victims. CNU encourages all faculty, staff and students to wear denim on National Denim Day.
“It’s not just about April, it’s not just about tonight. It’s 365 days a year, and we have to be there, and our survivors deal with this every single day, and it’s important for us to be supporters,” President Kelly said.
For resources to support survivors of sexual assault or sexual violence, please visit the Office of Institutional Compliance/Title IX website.
