As some of you may know, April is sexual assault awareness month. This is something that is near and dear to my heart because I’m a survivor myself. For a lot of survivors, sexual assault awareness month is hard. There is this pressure that comes with being a survivor and feeling like you have to spread awareness and show activism in April, or you’re a failure to all of the other survivors out there. Not only that, but talking about being a survivor, making other individuals aware that sexual assault is an issue, it’s difficult. This April I challenge you to be a friend to a survivor and you can do this even if you don’t personally know someone who is a survivor of sexual assault. Take the weight of the world off our backs for once, this month. Be the voice for them because this month is when it matters most. 365 days a year sexual assault is burned into our minds, taking one month out of twelve to spread awareness about sexual assault is the least you can do. I’m not asking for anything crazy, just for you to be aware. On campus you walk by a survivor more than once, it is more prevalent than you may think. Every month of the year we carry extra baggage hoping that when April comes around we may get some relief. If you know a survivor or not, speak up, be a voice for survivors. Spread awareness. Sexual assault is a real issue on this campus and the ignorance surrounding the issue is even more astounding. The amount of times I’ve heard “that test raped me”, or “don’t rape me” thrown around like some sort of joke, is absurd. Because I’m sitting next to you or another survivor is, dying inside because to them, it’s no joke at all. Think before you speak this month. Share that post that spreads awareness about sexual assault, go to “Take Back the Night” at Endicott, support survivors and show that you care. I’m not asking for any act of valor, just simple gestures that let survivors know they are not alone this April. Remind your friends who are survivors that they are spreading awareness this month by being as strong as they can be. This April I challenge you to spread awareness about sexual assault because until it happens to you, you don’t know how it feels.
For a better understanding of how survivors feel and how to spread awareness, visit the following sites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmWBrN7QV6Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQbei5JGiT8