Officials and student leaders from UW-Madison are gearing up to participate in a month-long campaign to promote sexual assault awareness on campus, set to begin April 2.
Members of the University Subcommittee on Dating Violence and Sexual Assault, the Offices of the Dean of Students, the Wisconsin Union Directorate and other student organizations will help host the events. Activities will be tailored to educate community members about the dangers and consequences of sexual assault globally, nationally and throughout the state of Wisconsin.
""I think the first things students should do is every day think about something they [stand] for, and how they can show full respect and consent,"" Carmen Hotvedt, a member of the subcommittee, said. ""And that doesn't mean that [they] need to get involved in some movement, it means every day they can make those choices for themselves and help their friends see what they see.""
Hotvedt said Sexual Assault Awareness Month began on campus in the late '90s after National Sexual Violence Resource Center encouraged communities to have events and efforts for an entire month instead of a week.
Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment, a student organization on campus that strives to educate students on sexual assault, will take part in this year's events.
Katie Simons, PAVE media relations chair, said she is currently working on a project to take place during the month of April.
""I am working on a bus campaign and we are hoping to put the posters on the buses for the month,"" she said. Simons said the posters will promote sexual assault awareness.
The $300,000 grant the university received from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office on Violence Against Women for 2009 will help fund the PAVE poster campaign, according to Simons.
""The idea [of the project] is to engage students and members of the community, which is the point of the grant—community advocacy,"" she said.
However, Hotvedt said SAAM events will not be funded through any of the grant money. Contributors like the Wisconsin Union Directorate and the Campus Women's Center will support the activities.
According to Hotvedt, the primary purpose of the grant is to implement more intervention and prevention services for sexual assault on campus, and to train law enforcement officials, where the university lacked funding in the past.
UW-Madison was one of seven colleges in the nation to receive the grant in 2009 but there are 21 beneficiaries total. The subcommittee will serve as an advisory board for the 36-month-long grant project.
""To do anything really well it takes a concerted effort and some budget funds behind that,"" Tonya Schmidt, dean of judicial affairs and member of the subcommittee, said.
UW-Madison applied for the money several times in the past.
""This is a very important issue for our campus to address, especially since it really does affect our population of students,"" Schmidt said.
According to the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance, there were a total of 1,233 sexual assaults reported in the state in 2007 and 156 of those were in the UW System. UW-Madison recorded 42 instances of sexual assault within the 2006-'07 school year. UW-Oshkosh followed close behind with 23 reported instances.
Kelly Anderson, director of the Dane County Rape Crisis Center, said there were approximately 380 people who received sexual assault nurse examiner evaluations in 2008. SANE nurses work at Meriter Hospital, located at 1 S. Park St.
Examinations consist of collecting medical-forensic evidence that may be useful in court, use of forensic colposcopy and photography, which enhances injury assessment, documentation and other safety guidance principles.
According to Anderson, roughly half of the people who received SANE examinations were under the age of 18 and about 25 of them were UW-Madison students.
""The tendency of sexual violence is definitely continuing,"" Simons said. ""Hopefully through [our] work and advocacy we can try and change that.""
For more information about sexual assault awareness month visit today.wisc.edu.
