Sep 4th, 2015, 10:24 PM

Sexual Aggression and Awareness Month

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“know more” is the official slogan of this year’s Sexual Agression Awareness Campaign. Source: Activities and Clubs Committee of AUP
As part of Sexual Aggression Awareness Month, AUP is organising its own campaign.

In 2009, Barack Obama proclaimed April as the month of Sexual Aggression and Awareness. Despite events and notions that go back to the 1970s, he was the very first president to officially recognise the annual campaign and its date. Every year, all around the world, but especially the USA, events and activities are planned by businesses, government agencies, rape crisis centers, campuses and individuals in order to highlight the sexual violence inflicted and reinforce the need for preventions efforts. In April of 2013, AUP joined in this campaign and has been since then organized opportunities for students to actively participate.

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Sexual aggression awareness at AUP began in November of 2012, when the SGA invited Grace Brown, a photographer who had become renown for her Project Unbreakable which featured sexual assault survivors holding posters with quotes from their attackers. While advertising the photographer's event, her photos, were hung up all around the campus. They caused some sexual assault survivors at AUP to be brought back to the dark place they went through themselves and complained. For this reason, AUP decided to organise a structured series of events during the official Sexual Aggression Awareness month at AUP.

T-Shirts for Students and Volunteers at AUP
"know more" is the official slogan of this year's Sexual Agression Awareness Campaign. Source: Activities and Clubs Committee of AUP

The first year the campaign was organised at AUP served as a trial. Sandrine Godt, the Student Councelor, held a workshop with the help of a psychologist where "not many students came, but there was a good discussion." Last year, the campaign really set off at AUP. Following the same style as this Spring, teasers appeared merely hinting at the cause, followed by pledges and a final event.

The teasers have caused mixed emotions within the student body. Notes were posted on all of the posters saying "It could be my sister" protesting against the possessive tone. "For me, the problem with the campaign is that not only does the 'my' imply that people should be interested in the issue purely for the reason that the victim means something to us, the poster highlights women as the victims placing the blame entirely on men, which is unethical and sexist," commented Ciat Conlin, the French representative at AUP. Other students have agreed that the posters shouldn't concentrate on the particulars of the victim, after all every victim is somebody's something, but most importantly they are someone and nobody should be a victim. The posters that have gone up around the campus following this issue, have avoided the possessive tone and for the first time have mentioned both male and female victims. Godt commented on the controversy with:

"I'm glad that it provoked the reactions. I hope these people will attend the final event so that we can have the discussion. Our campaign was just to peak curiousity and start a conversation, at least they [the critics of the posters] helped us talk about it."

The second phase of the campaign is the pledge. For three days (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday), tables were set up in Grenelle and Combes for students to read and sign pledges promising not to be a silent bystander in sexual assaults. Statistics show that one in four women and one in sixteen men will be assaulted during their university years. It is important to be aware of what could happen and to promise to help prevent this act from happening. Godt states that the pledge essentially says: "I do agree that this is an issue and I'm willing to fight it. I will be on the outlook and if something happens in front of me, I will stop it."

 

 

Whether we like it or not, we live in a society where rape happens. It is important to make aware the issue and educate individuals on defending themselves against assault.

To commemorate the end of sexual assault awareness month, a final event will occur on April 27 from 6-9 pm at AUP. Students will firstly participate in a round table discussion with a psychologist trained in treatment to help sexual assault victims and after an art therapy session for students. "The success of the campaign is the attendance," Godt says, and for that reason she encourages you to attend.