YW sets Sexual Assault Awareness events

VW independent/submitted information

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and the YWCA of Van Wert County will be bringing awareness to this important topic through several events during the entire month. The YWCA will be using their social media platforms and website as well as utilizing outreach in schools and businesses to bring various topics to light such as consent, rape culture, and sexual assault prevention.  

“During the month of April, we highlight our rape crisis services and provide impactful information regarding prevention and consent which will be posted on social media,” said YWCA Director of Victim Services Jamie Evans. “Ideally we want to be out in the community meeting people to have open discussions about sexual assault awareness and our services and thankfully this year we can do some of that a little more safely.” 

Each year the YWCA invites local businesses to participate in Denim Day and new this year will be a Denim Day competition between businesses and student organizations. 

“We are excited for this opportunity for businesses and student organizations to get creative by decorating a pair of jeans to show support to victims and bring awareness to sexual assault,” said YWCA Outreach Coordinator Julie Schaufelberger. 

Evans stressed the importance of getting students involved in this awareness campaign. 

“Sexual Assault is a heavy topic for adults much less high schoolers, but this is an important discussion to have with high school age students due to the number of kids under the age of 18 who are victims of sexual violence,” she noted. 

Statistically, 82 percent of all sexual assault victims are females under 18 and at the collegiate level, 26 percent of females and 7 percent of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (RAINN.org). 

For the Denim Day competition, the YWCA will provide a pair of jeans for businesses to decorate with messages of consent and support and then the jeans will be voted on by social media followers. Businesses are also invited to wear jeans on Denim Day, April 28, and post pictures on social media tagging the YWCA. Free stickers will be provided to employees of those businesses to indicate why they are wearing denim and prizes will be awarded for the best Denim Day creations. 

Businesses interested in either of these events should contact Schaufelberger to register for stickers or the Denim Day competition at julies@ywcavanwertcounty.org.  

Denim Day grew out of a 1999 Italian Supreme Court decision that overturned a rape conviction on the basis of what the victim was wearing. The chief judge in the case insisted that because the victim wore very tight jeans, she had to help her attacker remove them, therein implying consent. Enraged by the verdict, members of the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans to work in support of the victim. Wearing jeans became an international symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes and myths surrounding sexual assault (the full story of Denim Day may be found on the event page of the YWCA website www.ywcavanwert.org). 

Teal is the international awareness color of sexual assault and Turn the Town Teal is a new initiative for the YWCA. Private citizens, businesses, and organizations are invited to tie a teal ribbon on a lamp post or tree or decorate their store fronts in teal. People are also encouraged to wear teal every Tuesday. 

The YWCA also provides sexual assault advocacy at Wright State University-Lake Campus (WSU-LC) and the YWCA staff will e visiting campus to bring awareness there. RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) Day is an annual way for college students across the country to speak out about sexual violence and raise awareness on this pervasive issue. RAINN provides many resources to victims of sexual violence and brings awareness as well. 

Jodi Brummette, YWCA Court Advocate and Sexual Assault advocate for WSU-LC, will be working with campus officials to plan the visit. 

“Due to COVID, it has been over a year since we have had a presence on at Wright State,” Brummette said. “RAINN Day will be an impactful way for us to get back and bring continuous awareness to the presence of an advocate who can provide confidential support for victims of sexual assault at Lake Campus.” 

Frequent social media posts will begin on Facebook (YWCA of Van Wert County) and Twitter (@YWCA of Van Wert) and Instagram beginning April 1 and will continue until April 30. Information will also be available on the events page of the YWCA website above.

“There will be some interesting information and links for social media and website followers to engage in regarding this month’s awareness campaign and we hope people will take a few minutes each day to increase their knowledge,” Schaufelberger said. 

The YWCA is a United Way of Van Wert County agency and is partially funded by the Van Wert County Foundation.