April is nationally observed as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. This issue affects the Aggie Community as a whole and Texas A&M Health Promotion Center is working to acknowledge this matter. The Health Promotion Center is collaborating with student organizations, faculty and local resources in the Bryan community.
The Health Promotion Center provides free resources for anyone on campus and offers the Green Dot Bystander Intervention Program, STAND up trauma-informed violence prevention programs. The center also offers programs to learn more about alcohol and substance abuse. Health Promotion Specialist Megan Woodfield said health promotion empowers all Aggies to embrace a culture of holistic well-being that fosters their academic, personal and professional success.
“The Office of Health Promotion leads the campus in educational prevention initiatives related to all forms of power-based personal violence including sexual assault,” Woodfield said. “Our office works with campus, community and student organization partners to not only host our own events during April but also promote, to the best of our knowledge, all related events happening on campus related to sexual assault.”
Many students and faculty are unaware of the resources and how accessible they are on campus, Woodfield said. In times of crisis, the health promotion center is there for guidance and problem-solving. Sexual violence affects people differently and a community can be valuable as a support system.
“The team who has worked on this programming has put so much intentionally into creating opportunities where all Aggies feel comfortable and empowered in engaging with this content,” Woodfield said. “Our goal is to make this month something that brings education, community building and prevention work together to create a campus where survivors are supported, allies are equipped with the tools they need to help and sexual violence is not tolerated.”
For the month, initiatives and events have been planned to inform students about resources available to them on a local level and within the university. Some of the initiatives are as follows:
The Sexual Assault Resource Center of Brazos Valley, or SARC, is hosting a Paint It Teal Initiative on April 1 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
SARC is a resource available to support survivors of sexual violence through advocacy, counseling and crisis intervention and works to end sexual violence. Executive Director Lindsey LeBlanc said this month is 30 days for SARC to further their outreach, and bring intentional connection to the community with a very clear message about why sexual assault is important to talk about within the region.
“Roughly 49% of our client survivors are between the ages of 18 and 24,” LeBlanc said. “We know that college-aged youth are at risk of higher rates of sexual violence and are working hard to end sexual violence on our campus.”
Students aren’t always aware of ways to keep themselves safe and comfortable, LeBlanc said, and raising awareness is a means to educate themselves and others.
“Ultimately, shining the light on sexual violence works to end sexual assault which is our No. 1 goal,” LeBlanc said. “We are closing out SAAPM [Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month] with our Shatter: A Survivor Fashion Show and just launched a discounted student ticket as we hope to see more students engaged in our work to bring an end to sexual violence.”
SLIDE is one of the organizations working with the Health Promotion Center on this initiative. Committee executive and education junior Kaitlyn Fernandez said SLIDE’s goal is to educate those on campus and in the community.
“Throughout the month of April we use this time as a chance to amplify our voices and plan events that will engage students and community members in regard to sexual assault awareness,” Fernandez said. “As a student organization, we hope to help the student body of Texas A&M connect with different resources on campus and in the community.”
The Texas A&M Rec Sports’ Living Well is hosting early morning Sunrise Boxing from 6:15-7:15 a.m. April 11-20 Students, faculty and staff are all welcome to attend this event.
As for events later this month, Denim Day takes place on April 26 and is the longest-running sexual prevention and education campaign practiced by many. The community wears jeans on this day to protest sexual and gendered misconceptions.
