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Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) is a month-long series of engagement opportunities hosted by the Sexual Violence Support & Prevention Office (SVSPO) in collaboration with SFU and FIC partners every January. The purpose of SAAM is to raise awareness about sexual violence and to empower SFU and FIC students, faculty, staff, and administrators to engage with this complex topic in meaningful ways.
SAAM 2023: FROM AWARENESS TO ACTION
Sexual violence is often misrepresented as an interpersonal issue. In reality, it is a complex systemic problem that must be addressed at multiple levels. Inspired by this article, which argues for the need to take concrete action against sexual violence, the theme of SAAM 2023 is From Awareness to Action.
Guided by the socio-ecological model, we are encouraging SFU and FIC students, faculty, staff, and administration to identify actions that can be taken at various levels– individual, relationship, community, societal, structural, and historical– to prevent sexual violence and support survivors. Awareness is an important first step for individuals and communities, but intentional action is urgently needed to create a future without sexual violence.
The following list offers some suggestions for actions that individuals or groups can take at various levels to disrupt the systems that enable sexual violence and disempower survivors.
Individual
- Attend a workshop offered by the SVSPO or similar training offered by community organizations, such as WAVAW or EVA BC
- Learn about the sexual violence support services offered on campus
- Read up on issues related to sexual violence, such as gender norms, healthy relationships, or systemic forms of gender-based oppression
Interpersonal / Relationship
- Have open conversations with people in your networks (eg. friends, family, professors, colleagues) about ways to practice consent
- Check in with friends/family about a concerning relationship and offer information and resources about relationship violence
- Call in close family members, friends, or colleagues on potentially harmful comments or actions
- Advocate for Bystander Intervention training for workers in the community, such as bartenders, servers, etc.
- Collaborate with other SFU, FIC, or community-based units or groups to organize awareness-raising and action-oriented initiatives
Community / Organizational
- Advocate for Bystander Intervention training for workers in the community, such as bartenders, servers, etc.
- Collaborate with other SFU, FIC, or community-based units or groups to organize awareness-raising and action-oriented initiatives.
Societal
- Call out jokes, comments, attitudes, and biases which validate rape culture
- Practice active bystander intervention, whether it’s in the moment or after the incident(s)
- Join a campus or community-based group or organization that is working toward gender equity
Structural
- Advocate for more anti-violence legislation and procedures that are trauma-informed and survivor-centered
- Transition away from punitive processes toward accountability processes with folks who have committed sexual violence and caused harm
- Advocate for a curriculum framed by trauma-informed practices for higher education, with the support of the SVSPO and the Centre for Educational Excellence
Historical
- Learn about the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and how colonial systems benefit from and perpetuate sexual violence
- Situate current forms of harm and impacts of sexual violence within their historical contexts
SAAM Events Calendar
2023 SAAM events and activities will be posted here throughout the Fall 2022 term.
In Acknowledgement
We would like to recognize and thank the members of the SAAM 2022 Advisory Committee, who contributed their time, energy, and commitment: Alesha Garcha, Alyssa Quan, Alyssa Victorino, Amanat Sandhu, Amrit Tiwana, Awna Besan (Career Advisor, Undergraduate Careers, Beedie School of Business), Jacinda Wijaya, Junelle Knihniski (Health Sciences, Public Health & Data), Kelly Dohei, Marie Haddad (SFSS, VP Equity and Sustainability), Dr. Mary-Catherine Kropinski (Associate Dean, EDI, Faculty of Science), Megan Bobetsis (GSWS graduate student), Mohammad Amin Sharifi, Nadina Dodd (she/her, FIC Wellness Office), Sam Simon (he/him, Math PhD student), Sam Robertson, Victoria Belway.