Genevieve Pfister, Staff Writer–
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Denison’s Sexual Harassment & Assault Resources & Education (SHARE) has many events lined up throughout the month aiming to help support survivors of sexual assault on Denison’s campus and spread awareness.
Olivia Snyder ‘24, SHARE’s Vice President & Education Director, discussed what Sexual Assault Awareness Month means to the organization.
“Sexual Assault Awareness Month is really special to us because it really is a time set apart that our programs and all of our events are very highlighted . . . we’ve seen before our events . . . getting swept under the rug a little, so April being the month where it’s very highlighted, it is very nice for us,” said Snyder.
The final schedule, organized by different members of the executive board, includes a Paint Your Own Denim Jacket event in collaboration with DCSR, a Show Survivors Love flower bouquet event, and Helping Hands Training, a student-led training on consent, empathy, and bystander intervention to help students prevent sexual assault and help support survivors.
The schedule also includes events featuring outside speakers, such as a viewing of and conversation about Disfluency, a movie that follows a college student’s journey after being sexually assaulted and is, according to Snyder, designed to deal with sexual assault in a non-triggering way and advocate for survivors, with the film’s director and Title IX.
Additionally, SHARE will be hosting an educational event specifically for C3 organizations.
“It really is unfortunate how the proportions are different when it comes to sexual assault survivors being of minority groups,” Snyder said when explaining the reasoning behind a C3 event and past collaborations with campus organizations like Outlook and the Black Student Union, pointing out how sexual assault happens more often to people of minority groups, including Black women and transgender people.
Snyder hopes people come away from SHARE’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month programming with a better understanding and awareness of consent and its role in preventing sexual assault, and what resources are available for survivors, including hotlines and confidential peer support. She also emphasized that while SHARE is advertised as being by survivors for survivors, anyone is welcome to be a part of it.