As some of you may know, April is sexual assault awareness month. As we are emerging out of April I thought today’s blog would be the perfect time to talk about some of the great events that happened right here on the University of Wisconsin Whitewater campus. To start off, sexual assault awareness month takes place all of April. The meaning behind this month is simple to educate and raise awareness on the topic of sexual assault and how to prevent this violence especially within your own community. Chances are that someone in your life is a survivor of sexual assault, sexual harrassment, or abuse, regardless of whether you are aware of it or not. Due to the fact that this is a health and wellness blog, I thought it was important to bring awareness to the topic since we are just coming out of April. Although April marks the time when we educate ourselves on the topic, I think it is important to discuss sexual assault awareness and education throughout the year. With that being said, there were various events on campus that ran throughout the week aimed to educate and bring awareness to sexual assault. Below I am going to highlight two of my personal favorite events that I thought were very inclusive and beneficial. 

Sexual Assault Awareness Events: 

• Men’s Talk 
  • The Men’s Talk was an event that aimed at starting a conversation about men’s role in preventing sexual violence. What I really enjoyed about the event that it labeled itself as a safe, brave, and grace space for men to discuss their role in the prevention of sexual violence. This event was open to all masculine identified persons, so it was not gender exclusive. Hosted by Dr. Logan Edwards, this event ran for about three hours. Although I was not able to stay for the event due to the fact that I do not identify as a masculine person, I have various friends who went to the event and were able to share its impacts with me. 
• Survivor’s Roundtable 
  • The Survivor’s Roundtable event was a safe space to bring survivors together for a time of healing. Hosted in Hyland on April 14th, survivors and advocates of sexual violence came to share their stories, support each other, listen, and build a strong community. Overall, I felt this event was helpful especially because there were no mandated reporters. This confidential event definitely made an impact on campus.

Overall, as stated above, it is important to educate yourself on sexual violence and how to prevent it not just in April, but at all points of the year. If you are interested in other events taking place on campus, just visit the UW-W website calendar of events for more information!

Do not get discouraged, 

Cora Shircel