Sexual assault and safety on Canadian university campuses are the themes of initiatives organized by students, with the support of UBC’s Faculty of Arts during January, which has been designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).
SAAM will provide the campus community an opportunity to hear speakers, engage in forums, and watch film and theatre performances focused on the topic of sexual assault – exploring its troubling roots and devastating consequences. Hoping to make this an annual event, the organizers have secured funding and university approval of the awareness campaign. Long-term plans include a safety audit and programs for promoting greater respect and safety.
Events planned for the three-week event are:
• Jan. 21: Meghan Gardiner will perform a one-woman theatrical performance of the film Dissolve, Dissolve: A Film about Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault followed by a Q & A.
• Jan. 26: A community-wide rally and march.
• Jan. 28: A lecture on gender violence by international educator Jackson Katz, entitled Tough Guys: Sexual Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity
• Jan. 29: Katz will conduct a workshop on why gender violence is an issue for men.
All events are open to the public. SAAM is the result of the combined efforts of the Faculty of Arts – Deans Office, UBC Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Critical Studies in Sexuality, Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies, UBC V-Day, Access and Diversity, Arts Undergraduate Society, Alma Mater Society Womyn’s Centre and Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) and Office of the VP Students.
For more information, visit http://www.arts.ubc.ca/about-arts/single-page-news/article/613/2404.html.
