2008 Woodie Awards
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Jessica Anderson
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: News
Student Advocates for Education (SAFE) will be hosting a variety of events throughout the upcoming weeks as they mark Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Come to the common area between Stevenson and Salazar Halls to partake in the event, "These Hands Won't Hurt", from April 9-10 from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. This event has a special emphasis on asking males to not take part in physical violence. Past participants had the opportunity to sign a pledge, committing to refrain from violence, and stamp their painted handprint onto a large banner. This banner serves as a unique statement of male anti-abuse awareness working in conjunction with female violence prevention.
A special opportunity to learn self-defense for free at Elite Academy is offered on Sat., April 12 at 11 a.m. However, event coordinators require interested students to sign up in the Student Union first, since space is limited.
On Wed., April 16 and Thurs., April 17, the Clothesline Project will be on display in front of Stevenson Hall. What began as a violence awareness movement in Cape Cod nearly twenty years ago has spread all the way to SSU, as women affected by violence are given the opportunity to decorate shirts to express their emotions. These shirts are then hung on public display, to be "viewed as testimony", according to the Clothesline Project website.
Information on Denim Day will be available in front of Stevenson on Thurs., April 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Denim Day, which is technically April 23, is held in support of a 1997 rape victim. The 17-year-old girl was picked up for her first driving lesson by her middle-aged driving instructor, who proceeded to rape her and leave her in an alleyway. The girl prosecuted him, and the instructor was convicted and jailed. However, upon appealing the case, it reached the Italian Supreme Court, where the Head Judge overturned the charges and released the rapist. The Judge's ruling read, "Because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them…and by removing the jeans…it was no longer rape but consensual sex." This ruling led to immediate outrage from women's groups, and so the tradition of Denim Day began, in which women are encouraged to wear jeans to work, school or elsewhere in support of the 17-year-old victim.
Come to the common area between Stevenson and Salazar Halls to partake in the event, "These Hands Won't Hurt", from April 9-10 from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. This event has a special emphasis on asking males to not take part in physical violence. Past participants had the opportunity to sign a pledge, committing to refrain from violence, and stamp their painted handprint onto a large banner. This banner serves as a unique statement of male anti-abuse awareness working in conjunction with female violence prevention.
A special opportunity to learn self-defense for free at Elite Academy is offered on Sat., April 12 at 11 a.m. However, event coordinators require interested students to sign up in the Student Union first, since space is limited.
On Wed., April 16 and Thurs., April 17, the Clothesline Project will be on display in front of Stevenson Hall. What began as a violence awareness movement in Cape Cod nearly twenty years ago has spread all the way to SSU, as women affected by violence are given the opportunity to decorate shirts to express their emotions. These shirts are then hung on public display, to be "viewed as testimony", according to the Clothesline Project website.
Information on Denim Day will be available in front of Stevenson on Thurs., April 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Denim Day, which is technically April 23, is held in support of a 1997 rape victim. The 17-year-old girl was picked up for her first driving lesson by her middle-aged driving instructor, who proceeded to rape her and leave her in an alleyway. The girl prosecuted him, and the instructor was convicted and jailed. However, upon appealing the case, it reached the Italian Supreme Court, where the Head Judge overturned the charges and released the rapist. The Judge's ruling read, "Because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them…and by removing the jeans…it was no longer rape but consensual sex." This ruling led to immediate outrage from women's groups, and so the tradition of Denim Day began, in which women are encouraged to wear jeans to work, school or elsewhere in support of the 17-year-old victim.
Be the first to comment on this story