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Center for Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response

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Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2025

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and Project Safe is offering awareness-raising, educational, and skill-building programs all month long. We’ll host our annual Survivor Speak-out on April 17 this year.  Contact Project Safe to pick up lantern decorating supplies!  Please see our full calendar below.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @VUProjectSafe to participate in Project Safe’s #SAAM2024 efforts (and to find our easily shareable content — please spread the word!).  Full event information may be found on Anchor Link.

SAAM 2025 Printable PDF Flyer

Project Safe SAAM 2025 Week 1 Newsletter (4/1/2025)

SAAM 2025 Week 2 Newsletter (4/7/2025)

VU SAAM 2025 Highlights

Faculty & Staff SAAM Learning & Professional Development Opportunities 

Each Wednesday at noon throughout the month of April, you can bring your lunch and join fellow faculty and staff in learning more about University resources and procedures.

  • Tuesday, April 8, at 12 PM in Sarratt 189: More Than a Body: Sexual Trauma and Eating Disorders
  • Wednesday, April 23, at 12 PM in Kissam C216: It Takes All of Us: Survivor Advocacy on Campus following Sexual Assault with Dr. Nicole Allen

SAAM Wellness Wednesdays — Each Wednesday in April from 11:30 AM to 1 PM along Rand Wall

Self-Care can sometimes be difficult. Stop by the Rand Wall to pick up some fun tools to help relieve stress and talk about tips and strategies.  Wellness Wednesdays are cosponsored by the Center for Student Wellbeing.

VU SAAM 2025 Full List of Events

What I Wish You Knew — Monday, March 31, 6 PM, Wilson 103

Join us as Project Safe and the Panhellenic Council welcome Lizz Clark for a screening and discussion of her award-winning short film College Moxie: What I Wish You Knew.

Lantern Decorating Party — Wednesday, April 3, 1-3 PM, Project Safe Center

Join us as we decorate lanterns for Sexual Assault Awareness Month! Each year we decorate lanterns to hang around campus as a way to raise awareness and show our solidarity with survivors. Bring your creativity, decorate a lantern, and hang it up to show your support for the survivors on our campus.

 IFC Event Safety and Survivor Support — Wednesday, April 3, 5-7 PM West End Neighborhood

Join Project Safe, Greek Life, and the Women’s Center for this program featuring learning and activity stations to help students organize safer social events, reinforce learning about effective consent and safe sex practices, and offer supportive messages to sexual assault survivors.

Reclaiming Pleasure: A Journey Back to the Self — Monday, April 7, 5 PM in Sarratt 325/327

Join us as we explore a creative healing space principles and practices that survivors can use to reconnect with their bodies on their own terms. Participants will leave with resources, tools, and a starting point for reclaiming pleasure. Cosponsored by the Women’s Center.

More Than a Body: Sexual Trauma and Eating Disorders — Tuesday, April 8, 12-1 PM, 189 Sarratt

Join us as Ashley Vicari, LPC, LPCC-S, NCC (Ashley Vicari Counseling) and Kathryn McWaters, RDN, LDN (Nashville Nutrition Partners), offer resources and strategies for healing, fostering awareness and empathy for those navigating these challenges. This program explores the complex relationship between eating disorders and sexual trauma, highlighting how trauma can influence the development and manifestation of disordered eating behaviors. Lunch will be provided.

Black Box Diaries Film Screening — Tuesday, April 8, at 4 PM in Buttrick 101

As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Project Safe is hosting a screening of the 2024 Oscar-nominated documentary film Black Box Diaries. Based upon her memoir, this film follows journalist Shiori  Itō as she conducts an investigation into her own sexual assault, aiming to bring the prominent perpetrator to justice. As her case gained public attention, she and others fight to improve Japan’s judicial and societal frameworks to better support survivors. Cosponsored by VSG and the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Dating Apps: Setting Boundaries & Expectations — Wednesday, April 9, 6-7 PM, Rand 308

Come learn more about dating app safety, including tips on setting boundaries and managing expectations.  This discussion on navigating online dating and safe dating practices in real life offers tips for everyone, and will focus on those dating within the LGBTQ+ community. Cosponsored by the Office of LGBTQI Life.

Sense of Belonging: Navigating the Intersections of Race and Sexual Violence — Monday, April 14, 5:30 PM, Black Cultural Center

Join Project Safe and the BCC for this program exploring the connection between one’s sense of belonging, racial identity, the widespread use of violent language, and sexual violence. By understanding these complex connections, we can better help our campus community to recognize, advocate, and create change when problematic and harmful behaviors arise.

This is Bigger Than the Music: Misogyny, Music, and Sexual Violence — Tuesday, April 15, 6 PM, Sarratt 325/327

Join Project Safe for this program will investigate the connection between misogyny, sexual violence, and music. Understanding this connection and help our community understand how problematic behavior has been normalized in the media we consume and how we can work to address the resulting harms that we see. Cosponsored by the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies.

The Invisible String of Survivor Support — Wednesday, April 16, at 5:30 PM, Sarratt 325

Come make friendship bracelets and learn how to better support survivors in our community!  This event is focused on providing resources, emotional support, and advocacy for survivors of interpersonal violence. Attendees will learn about the “invisible string” of community and campus support available.

Machismo Unmasked: The Impact on Men, Women, and Society — Wednesday, April 16, at 5:00 PM, Alumni Hall 201

Project Safe and the Intercultural Greek Council invites you to an open dialogue on machismo, a cultural norm deeply rooted in Hispanic traditions. While often associated with strength and masculinity, machismo in its extreme and subtle forms can have harmful effects on both men and women. Join us as we explore its impact on relationships, self-identity, and community dynamics. Together, we’ll discuss how to recognize, navigate, and challenge machismo in our own lives to foster healthier and more equitable interactions.  This program is cosponsored by the Office of Greek Life.

Where Do We Stand: Exploring How We Interpret Everyday Violence Prevention — Wednesday, April 16, 6 PM, NPHC House

Join Project Safe and the National Pan-Hellenic Council and participate in an exciting discussion designed to highlight and bridge the differences in our perspectives to improve and expand constructive engagement in the work of violence prevention. Come learn more about your peers, yourself, and your community as a whole.

Survivor Speak Out, Read Out — Thursday, April 17, 7-9 PM, Carmichael Hall 1406

At this annual program, survivors will have the opportunity to share their experiences and the impact violence has had on their lives. Participants can come to listen, offer support, read prepared remarks or excerpts of inspirational writing, or share freely.  This is intended to be a safe space for all. Project Safe and UCC staff will be on hand to support anyone who may need it.  *Community members who are designated mandatory reporters may attend and/or participate at this program without triggering their mandatory reporting obligation.

It Takes All of Us: Survivor Advocacy on Campus Following Sexual Assault — Wednesday, April 23, at 12 PM in Kissam C216

Faculty, staff, post-docs, and graduate students are invited to this talk by Peabody’s own Nicole Allen, professor of human and organizational development and chair of the department who studies community responses to gender-based violence, cross-sector community collaboration, and systems and organizational change.  Professor Allen will discuss her research and experiences working with various campuses to shape policies and procedures in trauma-informed, survivor-centered ways.

Understanding the Title IX Reporting and Investigative Process — Thursday, April 24, from 12-1 PM in Kissam C216 and online

Designed to enhance understanding of Title IX processes, this session will review the components and steps of the incident reporting and investigation processes. Additionally, it will highlight the support, resources, and assistance available to parties involved.  This program will be offered both online and in-person.  Click HERE to register for the Zoom option.

Observe SAAM Wherever You Are

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center offers many free, online resources available to survivors, activists, allies, prevention educators, and friends and family members of survivors.  Learn about the history of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).

There are several online resources offering ideas for online or virtual education and activist efforts.  Consider how you may be able to offer or participate in the following awareness, prevention education, and culture change efforts.

  • The National Sexual Violence Resource Center offers a variety of free online guides, downloads, and other resources to help you observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and engage in prevention education all year long. Browse their SAAM guide here https://www.nsvrc.org/saam.
  • Education and Awareness raising – social media, email newsletter, webinars
  • Participate in the #30DaysofSAAM Instagram contest to engage others in a fun and creative way. Follow @NSVRC on Instagram to get daily prompts during the month of April and then respond to them with a photo using #30DaysofSAAM and tag @NSVRC.
  • Participate in Survivor Love Letter, a movement for survivors of sexual assault and their allies to publicly celebrate their lives. It was started by filmmaker and activist, Tani Ikeda in 2012 on the anniversary of her rape where she penned a letter to her younger self that ended with the words: “this is my survivor love letter.” Since then, #SurvivorLoveLetter has rippled out and become a hashtag, a letter writing campaign, a national mural project, and a viral social movement. These letters have immersed thousands of survivors with the message that not only are they believed, not only are they supported, they are loved.
  • Political advocacy and activism may conducted online (emails, hashtags, direct messages, petitions)
    • Participate in political advocacy during SAAM by writing letters to local, state, territory, tribal, and national government officials about policies related to sexual violence that impact your community like rape kit backlogs and statutes of limitations.
    • Provide information and templates to community members – including young people – to encourage them to participate in this campaign.
  • Host a Twitter Chat to raise awareness, educate, and engage your followers. Advertise your Twitter account and the Twitter chat on your other existing forms of social media.  Designate a specific timeframe to begin and end your chat.  Typically, a chat time of one hour works well.  Prepare a list of questions to ask your followers.  Prepare some facts to share.  Be sure to designate a hashtag for your chat or chat series and include it you’re your questions and in every related tweet.  Encourage participants to please use the hashtag, which allows for others to read the conversation later, if they were not able to participate in real time. Retweet participant answers, as appropriate, and like participant tweets, and thank everyone for participating at the end.
  • Host a virtual event using the Facebook Live feature by streaming your event your Facebook audience in real time. Participants may watch, listen, and/or comment throughout your video.  If some staff continue reporting to work or other site, you may use a computer webcam or smartphone to broadcast a discussion, book group, or other interactive program.  That Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs offers free discussion guides online.
  • Host an online pledge drive. Using any social media platform, designate a theme or call to action and a hashtag.  This may be conducted over a period of days or weeks.  Link to an online article, blogpost, or other resource to help educate your followers on a certain issue.  You may participate in existing online pledge efforts (It’s On Us and No More, for example) or tailor this effort to an existing program or slogan for your community.
  • Hold a virtual movie screening and online discussion. Your college or university library may offer a tool to screen movies for free online, or you can simply encourage people to watch the same film on their preferred provider and then join for a Facebook Live facilitated video discussion or to use Facebook or Twitter for an online chat.  The National Sexual Violence Resource Center offers ideas for movies to screen during SAAM.
  • Host an online trivia night or other game. WCSAP offers SAAM Bingo cards and a blank template.  Consider hosting this virtually, using Zoom Meeting, Facebook Live, or other video streaming platform.  The stakes should be low, as, depending upon the activity, it may be challenging to ensure fair play using online methods; however, if goal of the activity remains focused on education and prevention, it matters less who wins.  If someone on your team has access to your program’s swag, perhaps you could offer to mail the prize to the winner.  If your organization sells merchandise, the prize could be a discount code.  Consider ways to create a PDF prize, such as SAAM coloring sheets or an activity book that may be sent to the winner electronically.
  • Host your own social media content contest on a certain topic. For example, if you were planning on hosting an awareness quilt activity, ask followers to use Canva or other content creation service to create an Instagram post.  With enough participants and intentional posting, you can create a virtual quilt on Instagram, or someone can combine the images into a larger image that may be shared via email, saved as a PDF, featured on your website, or shared online.
  • Offer Recommended Reading lists and an online version of a book discussion, whether video, online chat, or social media comments.

Accessibility Considerations

EVERFI Blog: “Nothing About Us Without Us”: Making Wellness Accessible