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K-State Today

April 11, 2019

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Submitted by Cleopatra Magwaro

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, or SAAM. This year's campaign is "I Ask," which focuses on the power of asking for consent and presenting this as a healthy, normal and necessary part of everyday interactions and relationships. 

Contact the K-State Center for Advocacy, Response and Education, CARE, throughout the month of April to learn more about their events this year.

Members of the K-State community can use their voice to change the culture around sexual violence by participating in the Sexual Assault Awareness Month campaign through the CARE office or being a bystander, reporting an incident to the Office of Institutional Equity OIE, or by simply learning more about consent.

If you want to learn more or take the online pledge to end sexual assault and domestic violence, you can follow the Sexual Assault Awareness Month campaign on social media using the hashtag #SAAM when communicating with friends and family, and start a conversation or just get people to start thinking about their own views on consent and why consent is important.

The history of Sexual Assault Awareness Month can be traced back to the late 1970s in England where women held protests against violence they encountered while walking at night. The marches were called "Take Back the Night" marches, which still occur on college campuses throughout the U.S., and more recently, also now known as "Take Back Our Lives," in recognition of various other forms of violence. During the 1980s, there was increased focus and awareness on violence against women, and the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault declared a week in April for Sexual Assault Awareness Week. By the 1990s, some advocates set aside events for the entire month of April and they sought to nationalize this campaign. On April 1, 2001, the U.S. observed the first Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Kansas State University prohibits sexual harassment and discrimination, various forms of sexual violence, stalking, domestic violence, dating violence, pregnancy discrimination, and gender identity/expression discrimination covered by PPM 3010. The Office of Institutional Equity is mandated to enforce PPM 3010.

To file a report with the Office of Institutional Equity, please use the online form or contact the office at 785-532-6220 or equity@k-state.edu

Additional off-campus resources include the National Violence Resource CenterNational Coalition Against Domestic ViolenceKansas Coalition against Sexual and Domestic Violence; and Men Can Stop Rape.