Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.
April serves as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a month designated to call attention to the widespread occurrence of sexual violence and the impact it can have on those involved. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center recognizes the theme for 2023’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month as “Drawing Connections: Prevention Demands Equity.” This month calls for individuals, communities, organizations, and institutions to change as individuals and alter the systems around us in order to build racial equity and respect.
Many advocacy organizations, including the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, believe that the best ways to diminish sexual assault, harassment, and abuse include working towards prevention and appropriately responding to situations including sexual violence. There are a few advocacy groups based in Denver that you could support this April, in acknowledgement of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The Blue Bench is an organization local to Denver. Founded in 1983, The Blue Bench has helped countless survivors, partnered with Denver police and hospitals to help properly report and handle sexual assaults, and began offering the Safe Bars program, a program designed to teach bar staff how to spot potentially sexually violent behaviors in their establishments and how to safely intervene. The Blue Bench accepts clients of all kinds, including survivors who have not reported their assault, survivors who were assaulted a long time ago or experienced childhood abuse, survivors who have had therapy before, and more. They have also created the Bringing in the Bystander prevention program, which has variations tailored specifically to high school and college students.
Mission Statement: “At the Blue Bench, our mission is to eliminate sexual assault and diminish the impact it has on individuals, their loved ones, and our community through comprehensive issue advocacy prevention and care.”
How to Support: Fiscal donations, connect your credit card to round up and donate your change, attend an event, donate requested items (including Amazon Wishlist items), volunteer, or join The Blue Bench mailing list
Her Campus at DU will be collecting items for The Blue Bench for the month of April. Contact hc.du@hercampus.com to learn more.
The Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault is also a Denver-based organization. CCASA was founded in 1984 to be the collective voice of sexual assault advocates across the state of Colorado. Their values include being anti-oppression, advocating for social change, cultivating an environment based on mutual respect and accountability, collaborating with different members or groups in the community, and, most importantly, being survivor-centered.
Mission Statement: “CCASA provides leadership, advocacy, and support to address and prevent sexual violence.”
Vision: Colorado communities promote safety, justice, and healing for survivors and foster healthy, respectful, and consensual interactions.
The Center for Advocacy, Prevention, and Empowerment, better known as CAPE, is an advocacy group specific to the University of Denver community. CAPE provides advocacy and support for survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking, and sexual harassment. Open to all members of the DU community, including students, staff, and faculty, CAPE services are all confidential and free of charge.
CAPE also provides financial support to some members of the DU community. The CAPE Survivor Fund was initiated by a group of student activists in an effort to support survivor healing. Relationship and gender-based violence can cause extreme financial stress, often leaving survivors with extra costs such as mental or physical treatment, loss of wages due to missing work or having to quit work, moving expenses, or the loss of scholarships due to a decline in academic performance or taking time off from school.
How to Support: Donate to the CAPE Survivor Fund