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Protestors hold up signs during a rally outside of Ellis Hall on Friday, February 24, 2017. The rally was held in response to the university's treatment of the sexual harassment allegations against English professor Andrew Escobedo.

OU takes part in sexual assault awareness month

In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Ohio University is putting on a series of events focused on preventing sexual assault.  

The United States observed the first Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April 2001. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center promotes activities throughout April to prevent sexual violence.

“Things don’t change if we don’t pay attention to them. That’s one of the reasons why it’s important to have a month,” Kerri Griffin, assistant director of the Office for Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, said.

The Survivor Advocacy Program, Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance and the Campus Involvement Center are putting on a series of events throughout the rest of the month.

“It not only, I think, directly helps survivors who have gone through this process or have experienced this, but also people who maybe had no idea the impact this has on a person when it happens to them,” SAP Director Kim Castor said.

A free screening of the documentary film Brave Miss World is being shown April 13 at 6:30 p.m. in Lindley Hall 321. The film looks at how, in 1998, Linor Abargil, now a lawyer, was abducted, stabbed and raped in Italy when she was 18. Six weeks later, she was crowned Miss World and chose to do something about rape. The documentary follows her journey from the rape to her crowning and her fight for justice. 

There will be a self-defense class for members of the LGBT community with the Ohio University Police Department on April 14 at 3 p.m. in the Women’s Center.

Coffee with a Cop will take place April 17 from 8-10 a.m. in Front Room Coffeehouse.

“Our idea is that a lot of people come and have questions, just general questions, for OUPD or the police in general about what kind of sexual assaults they’re seeing,” Castor said.

The event will provide students with an opportunity to ask the police questions about sexual assault, Castor said.

“You don’t get much time to interact with the police because they’re busy and responding,” Kristin Waltz, the SAP survivor advocate and case manager, said.

ECRC is hosting an event for faculty and staff to learn about the rights and responsibilities they have under Title IX.

A sexual assault awareness panel kicked off this month's activities on March 30.

Greek Week is April 10 and one of its themes is sexual assault prevention.

“It’s been really neat to see the different groups on campus and in the community involved in something this month in general,” Waltz said. “Everybody does things all year long, but having it concentrated has really caused people to take note.”

The annual Take Back the Night rally and march took place April 6.

“(April) is a busy month. However, I said to my son last night, ‘sometimes my job requires me to work long hours because there’s these things going on, but at the end of the day when I get home I feel really good about what I’ve done,’” Waltz said.

@megankhenry

mh573113@ohio.edu

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