Ivana Budjarovska ‘24
News Editor
budjarovskai@lakeforest.edu
Every April, the Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) campaign takes place with the aim of recognizing the gravity of sexual assault and spreading awareness about methods to prevent it. Sexual assault is still considered a taboo topic worldwide, and it is during this month when the efforts to educate individuals and communities on the impact of sexual assault are the strongest. Raising awareness about sexual assault is crucial in the United States, especially right now, when sexual violence continues to be so pervasive in everyday lives and in institutions that are supposed to prevent it. This conversation provides an opportunity for survivors to ask for help as well as for perpetrators to be held accountable, and it educates how learned behaviors in our misogynistic societies contribute to sexual violence. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that one in three women and one in six men experience sexual violence in their lifetime.
This year, Lake Forest College is doing its part in celebrating April as SAAM too, as an institution that stands for social justice and for protecting and educating its students. The Title IX Office, in collaboration with The Coalition Against Sexual Misconduct, and the student organization It’s On Us have been holding numerous workshops on consent, Title IX and rights, sexual citizenship, preventing STIs, with more workshops to come. These efforts are notably important for the LFC community, after an email last fall semester from a sexual assault survivor and ex-Lake Forest College student, who shared that her SA case was not handled properly by the responsible officers, which caused her great distress and resulted in her moving schools.
Following that, other survivors from the college who felt similarly came forward with their stories, either to their friends or to the Title IX Office. The college has been working tirelessly on making students feel safer on campus, by strengthening the collaboration between the Title IX Office and relevant students and student organizations, by making resources for survivors more accessible, as well as by organizing more events that aim to better the understanding of sexual assault and prevent sexual violence on campus. We highly recommend that you attend the remaining workshops organized by the Title IX Office and It’s On Us during April, including the SANE Sexual Assault Nurse Examination on April 25 and the Campus-wide Denim Day on April 26.
