Sexual Assault Awareness Month Events Get Under Way

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and there will be a number of educational and awareness events during the month to address and speak out against sexual assault and violence, particularly violence against women. The awareness campaign ends with the Take Back the Night March, starting at 7 p.m. Friday, April 24.

STAR Central, an office in the Pat Walker Health Center for Support, Training, Advocacy and Resources on Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence, was developed in 1998 and has been addressing the issues of sexual assault and relationship violence through awareness campaigns, education programs and victim advocacy services. As a program of STAR Central, a group called Rape Education Services by Peers Encouraging Conscious Thought, better known by its acronym, RESPECT, began in 2000 as a way to further reach out to university students through the use of peer education. RESPECT provides interactive, educational programs by college students for college students.

All events this month are sponsored by STAR Central and the RESPECT program.

A Poetry Slam will be hosted by Panera Bread Co. at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7 at Panera Bread restaurant, 3638 N. Front St., Fayetteville. Poems and dramatic readings with particular emphasis regarding how violence against women affects individuals, families and communities will be shared. Audience participation is welcomed.

“Life Beyond Rape: Survivor Stories” will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 16, in Arkansas Union Rooms 512-514. Survivors of sexual assault will share their stories as an inspiration that there is life after rape and to dispel myths associated with victim-blaming. This emotional yet enlightening presentation will be cosponsored by the Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention Agency.

Throughout the month, an exhibit, “The Survivors’ Wall,” will be on display from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at various locations across the University of Arkansas campus. The exhibit will be displayed at the Northwest Quad Residence Hall, March 30 to April 3; at the Multicultural Center in the Arkansas Union, April 6-10; at Mullins Library, April 13-17; and the Pat Walker Health Center, April 20-30. This compelling exhibit will feature stories and messages from survivors of sexual assault presented as a powerful and moving display of courage from those willing to speak out.

In its eighth year, “The Campus Clothesline Project” will be on display from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily April 24 and April 27-30 in the Central Quad between the Arkansas Union and Mullins Library. Beginning in 2001 with 80 T-shirts donated and decorated by university students, staff and faculty with messages of hope and support, risk-reduction strategies, awareness facts, and messages from survivors, “The Campus Clothesline Project” has grown into a powerfully emotional exhibit that will feature more than 1,500 T-shirts hanging as a unified voice against sexual assault and relationship violence.

The seventh annual Northwest Arkansas Take Back the Night March will be held on Friday, April 24. Gathering will begin at the Arvest Plaza on the Fayetteville Square with opening remarks at 7 p.m. by Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan, who will read a proclamation. Participants will march to the University of Arkansas via East Avenue, Dickson Street, and up through the lawn of Old Main to the re-gathering place in the Central Quad between the Arkansas Union and Mullins Library. At the re-gathering, a candlelight vigil will be held in remembrance of and honoring the survivors of sexual and relationship violence. Additionally, inspirational words and songs along with a speak-out will occur to allow all to have a voice against violence against women. The Campus Clothesline Project will remain on display this evening for participants to view after the march. Working with University Programs, all are invited to join activities of Friday Night Live afterward at the Arkansas Union.

For additional information or to schedule an interview, please contact Dr. Mary A. Wyandt-Hiebert at 479-575-7252. The STAR Central Office and RESPECT are dedicated to and dream of a day when sexual and relationship violence no longer exist.