In 2006, over 270,000 women reported being sexually assaulted. One in three women will be assaulted in their lifetime, and college girls are four times more likely to be the victim of such an attack. To raise awareness about this problem and look for solutions, the Women's and Gender Studies Club and Student Advocates for Education (SAFE) will honor Sexual Assault Awareness Month by hosting events throughout April.
A Christine Cobough exhibit will be available for viewing from April 1 -15 in the Center for Culture and Gender Studies. The exhibit centers on bringing awareness toward violence against women while at the same time advocating a stop to it. Moving pictures are paired with poems from survivors of assaults and Cobough has donated a book to the event detailing a woman's story about surviving incest.
These Hands Won't Hurt, a display presented by SAFE will be available for viewing from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. by Salazar and Stevenson Halls.
On Saturday, April 12, SAFE will sponsor a free self-defense training course at 11 a.m. at Elite Academy. Those who wish to participate must sign up in the Student Union prior to the event, as space is limited.
A T-shirt exhibit, The Clothesline Project will be on display on Wednesday and Thursday, April 16 and 17 in the Stevenson Quad from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Information about Denim Day will also be given on April 17.
Take Back The Night, an annual rally, will be held on Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m. in the Cooperage. The event is free, but seats are limited.
A representative from United Against Sexual Assault, a community group which offers free counseling to victims of all forms of sexual assault, is planning visit Sonoma State sometime after Take Back The Night. He will run a workshop on sexual assault and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. More details about the event will be announced later.
For more information, contact Alyssa Messer, President of the Women's and Gender Studies Club at messeral@sonoma.edu or Katie from SAFE at (707) 664-2217 or safe@sonoma.edu.
