Sexual Assault Awareness Month

"April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month" and "#UICSAAM" in black letters on a teal background with a teal awareness ribbon on the left side.

 

The University of Illinois Chicago joins the nation in observing Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) in April. Though UIC’s Women’s Leadership and Resource Center focuses on the prevention of sexual violence and other forms of interpersonal violence throughout the year,  SAAM is an opportunity for us to reflect on the work of our center and the larger UIC community.

Through our Campus Advocacy Network program, we have witnessed an increase in conversation and action throughout the university. Faculty and staff are engaging in dialogues within their departments about sexual violence, harassment, and discrimination. Undergraduate and graduate students are spearheading much of the discourse, through student organizations and campus activism. Seeing this growth on campus encourages us to continue supporting the activism of survivors, concerned students, and their allies. We applaud those who share our sense of urgency to address sexual violence and invite you to partner with us in this endeavor.

Please join us this month and beyond to learn how to support survivors, understand bystander intervention, and create a culture of care and action.

Promotional poster: The event title in white text over a purple background, with flames rising from the bottom center. Below that is white text on a blue background describing the HEALS affinity space (same info on this page).
Promotional poster: The event title in white text over a purple background, with flames rising from the bottom center. Below that is white text on a blue background describing the HEALS affinity space (same info on this page).

HEALS: Surviving School and Work

Tuesday, April 2, 2024
2:30-3:30pm
Women’s Leadership and Resource Center

We invite UIC graduate, professional, and undergraduate students to join HEALS (Healing for Engagement, Action, and Leadership by Survivors), a bi-weekly community for UIC students who experience gender-based violence (domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, harassment, stalking, and family abuse).

April 2 topic: Surviving School/Work

What are the challenges of moving through classes and work as a survivor? What strategies can help? What forms of support and accommodations do you need in the classroom, and how can you access them? We will leave the session with concrete tools and goals for the second half of the semester.

Promotional poster: Details about the PERSIST(Σ) We Are All Advocates workshop (same text on this page) in white text on a teal background. Above the title is the PERSIST(Σ) logo, a stylized gear with a flower in the center. Behind the title are two hands holding a felt heart.
Promotional poster: Details about the PERSIST(Σ) We Are All Advocates workshop (same text on this page) in white text on a teal background. Above the title is the PERSIST(Σ) logo, a stylized gear with a flower in the center. Behind the title are two hands holding a felt heart.

PERSIST(Σ): We Are All Advocates: Preventing Harm and Supporting Survivors

Monday, April 8, 2024
1-3pm
Women’s Leadership and Resource Center

How can we respond when we witness or experience violence? Join us for a workshop on how to advocate for ourselves and support the survivors of gender-based violence (sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, harassment, stalking, or family abuse) in our school, professional, and personal lives. Leave with an expanded toolkit of strategies, information, and resources for advocacy, bystander intervention, and healing.

Survivors and allies are welcome–no prior experience or knowledge required! All undergraduate, graduate, and professional students are invited, but we will be centering the voices and experiences of women and nonbinary students of color.

Promotional poster:
Promotional poster: "Portraits of a Survivor" spelled out in letters cut from magazines and "Zine-making for Sexual Assault Awareness Month" in teal letters with teal awareness ribbons next to it. Below that is text describing the event on a teal background.

Portraits of a Survivor: Zinemaking for Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Tuesday, April 9, 2024
3:30-5pm
Women’s Leadership and Resource Center

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join us to create zines centering survivors of sexual violence (assault, harassment, stalking, and domestic/dating violence). Through zine-making, we will hold space for survivors’ stories; share our collective grief, rage, and joy; and craft messages of survival, healing, advocacy, and change.

Facilitated by our friends at Greenlight Counseling.

Survivors and allies are welcome to attend. Art supplies and snacks will be provided–no previous experience required!

Promotional poster: A photo of students walking on UIC's campus, washed in purple, with the event title in white text on top. Below that is white text on a blue background describing the event (same info on this page).
Promotional poster: A photo of students walking on UIC's campus, washed in purple, with the event title in white text on top. Below that is white text on a blue background describing the event (same info on this page).

Survivors Making Change: Commemorating Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Tuesday, April 16, 2024
2:30-3:30pm
Women’s Leadership and Resource Center

How do survivors of gender-based violence advocate for change? During this conversation with survivors and their allies, we will celebrate how we have raised our voices, learn about survivor-led campaigns and movements, and explore ways to get involved.

Past Events Heading link

Promotional poster: Large white text at the top says,
Promotional poster: Large white text at the top says, "The Clothesline Project: Survivors Belong Here." Inside the "o" in "Belong" are two hearts. Behind the text are colored t-shirts hanging on a clothesline, all on a purple background. Below that, on a green-blue gradient background, are details about the event (same info on this page).

The Clothesline Project: Survivors Belong Here

Tuesday, April 4 – Thursday, April 6, 2023
11am – 2pm
Student Center East, East Terrace
750 S. Halsted St., 2nd floor

In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, UIC students, staff, faculty, and community members are invited to participate in the Clothesline Project!

All semester long, we have hosted events with campus partners and student organizations to uplift survivors and educate our community about sexual and domestic violence. At these events, dozens of UIC students, faculty, and staff designed t-shirts with messages of hope, healing, and protest.

Stop by April 4-6, 11am – 2pm, at Student Center East to bear witness to their messages and view the art they have created. You’ll also be able to create your own t-shirt art for the display.

Join us in creating a campus that affirms: Survivors Belong Here!

Promotional Poster: An open mouth with red lips, white teeth, and pink tongue, with the words
Promotional Poster: An open mouth with red lips, white teeth, and pink tongue, with the words "Survivors Speak Out!" printed on top of it in large white text. Above that is "The Clothesline Project" in white text. Behind and around the mouth are lightning bolts and t-shirts in various colors, on a purple background. Below that are details about the event (same info on this page).

The Clothesline Project: Survivors Speak Out!

Tuesday, April 4, 2023
6-8pm
Student Center East, East Terrace
750 S. Halsted St., 2nd floor

UIC students, staff, faculty, and community members are invited to commemorate the Clothesline Project!

  • View student, faculty, and staff art that voices hope, healing, and protest around sexual and domestic violence.
  • Listen to survivor storytellers who speak out about this injustice.
  • And, share your own story, via writing, crafts, or protest signs.

This will be a time of voicing collective grief and also a celebration–a time in which survivors’ strength and power is uplifted.  Please join us!

Co-sponsored by UIC Campus Housing, Equity & Inclusion in Engineering Program, African American Cultural Center, and Disability Cultural Center.

 

Chalk drawing of a table with 3 folding chairs around it in a dark room lit by a single window. Below that, in white text, are the words

CIVIC CINEMA: SOLEDAD
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
3-4pm CT
Via Zoom

Join WLRC’s Campus Advocacy Network and the Latino Cultural Center for a screening and discussion as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month:

Soledad tells the story of a woman from Central America who fled gang violence and torture to seek asylum in the U.S., only to find herself imprisoned at the Eloy Detention Center. Soledad and a team of women join forces to win her asylum case.

Co-sponsored by the Richard J. Daley Library and student organization Fearless Undocumented Alliance (FUA).

All audiences are welcome.

Auto-captions will be enabled on Zoom. ASL Interpretation services may be available by contacting the Latino Cultural Center 5 business days before the program. For access needs or questions, email lcc@uic.edu or call (312) 996-3095.

THE BREATHING ROOM: WE CAN ALL BE ADVOCATES
Friday, April 8, 2022
2-3pm CT
Via Zoom

Join us in the Breathing Room, a place to unwind, heal, and find community. These casual Zoom drop-in sessions are open to everyone at UIC. We’ll start with the topic at hand and see where the conversation takes us!

April 8: We Can All Be Advocates

How can you support a loved one who has experienced gender-based violence (sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, harassment, stalking, or family abuse)? What can you say or do to let them know you are there for them? This Sexual Assault Awareness Month, join us for a conversation about how to advocate for the survivors in your life while not forgetting about your own safety and wellness. Leave with an expanded toolkit of strategies, information, and campus and community resources for advocacy and healing. Come as you are – no prior experience or knowledge required!

CART live captioning will be provided. Please send any questions or access requests to wlrc@uic.edu.

Presented as part of the Wellness Center‘s Take Care of Our Flames initiative.

Purple text on a pink background describes the event. The text is surrounded on the right and left by candies of all shapes in red wrappers/

SEX & CHOCOLATE
Monday, April 18, 2022
1-3pm CT
East Campus Quad – Lecture Center Plaza

Stop by our table to play some trivia on pop culture, media, and life!

Learn about healthy sexual practices; leave with free treats and contraceptives!

Cover of the second edition of Sonya Renee Taylor's book, The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self Love. It features Sonya laying luxuriously, nude, clothed only in purple petals, with an orange blossom cushioning her head like a flowery halo and purplish-green butterfly wings emerging from her back, her self-love journey activated and in flight. In lower-right corner, there is a quote from Brené Brown, PhD, author of The New York Times #1 Bestseller Dare to Lead: “This book took my breath away. It’s an unexpected and urgent embrace of truth.” Below the image is text describing the event.

FEMINIST PAGE-TURNERS: OUR BODIES ARE NOT AN APOLOGY
Thursday, April 21, 2022
2:30-3:30pm CT
Via Zoom

Join WLRC’s Campus Advocacy Network, UIC Disability Cultural Center, and UIC Dialogue Initiative for a conversation about Sonya Renee Taylor’s book, The Body Is Not An Apology, centering radical self-love as a tool for dismantling violent systems. We will talk about ways that we can reclaim joy in our bodies; unlearn body shame; and heal from ableism, racism, and gender oppression. We invite you to spend an hour with us celebrating how we can construct a more equitable and compassionate world.

CART live captioning will be provided. Please send any questions or access requests to wlrc@uic.edu.

How to get the book:

We encourage you to read the book before our meeting, but you are welcome to attend no matter how much or little you have read. The discussion will offer opportunities to engage around quotes and questions that are open to all.

UIC students can pick up hard copies of the book at the Office of the Dean of Students (1200 W. Harrison St., 3030 SSB). Electronic copies are also available from the UIC Library: full book and workbook. If you need help accessing the text, please email wlrc@uic.edu.

White text on a red background: DENIM DAY. Crafting with Purpose. Support survivors and let's educate ourselves and others about sexual violence. Below that is the date, time, location, and RSVP link. In the four corners are the co-sponsors' logos.

DENIM DAY
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
5-6:30pm CT
EIEP Office, SEL-East 2063

WLRC, Women in Engineering Programs (WIEP), Women in Computer Science (WiCS), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and GradSWE invite all UIC community members to an evening of crafting and conversation.

We’ll learn about the history of Denim Day and anti-violence movements and talk about healing and self-love while decorating denim squares and making denim bracelets. You can take your creations with you or add them to a quilt that will be displayed in the Equity and Inclusion in Engineering Programs (EIEP) office.

Masks are required for the safety of all in attendance.

Art supplies will be provided. Donations of clean jeans/denim are greatly appreciated! Drop off at the EIEP office (Science and Engineering Labs East, Rm. 2065).

 

A black and white, still image from the film showing a Black person in a white tunic sitting and playing a drum with their hands, and another person in a lacy white cape standing behind them with their arms partially outstretched.

FEMINIST FILMS: NO! THE RAPE DOCUMENTARY
Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 4-6pm
Location TBA

Join us for a screening of this groundbreaking film that explores the international atrocity of rape of cisgender women by cisgender men, and other forms of sexual assault through the first person testimonies, scholarship, spirituality, activism, and cultural work of Black people in the United States.

Hosted by UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center. Co-sponsored by UIC Department of African American Studies and SISTERS.

Light refreshments will be provided. Please call (312) 413-1025 or email can.wlrc@gmail.com to request accommodations.

Take Back the Night in turquoise letters with text details about the event in white letters, on a black background, with white t-shirts hanging on a clothesline at the top.

TAKE BACK THE NIGHT
Thursday, April 18, 3-5pm
UIC Quad

Join us in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault as we empower one another through conversation, storytelling, and resource-sharing.

Sponsored by Planned Parenthood Generation Action, in collaboration with UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center, Feminists United, Porchlight, Resilience, and In.Power (Howard Brown Health Center).

ART AND HEALING WITH R.C. RILEY
Thursday, April 18, 6-8pm
African American Cultural Center, Addams Hall, 830 S. Halsted St.

Join us after Take Back the Night for an evening of continued reflection and community building around sexual assault prevention, featuring artist R.C. Riley.

Dinner will be provided. Please call (312) 413-1025 or email can.wlrc@gmail.com to request accommodations.