Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center hosting events for Sexual Assault Awareness Month


LAWRENCE — The Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center (SAPEC) at the University of Kansas is coordinating a month of events in April as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Events this year will focus on the theme of Engaging New Voices, said Jen Brockman, the center’s director. Historically, sexual violence has been viewed through a narrow lens, she said, focusing primarily on white, able-bodied women.

Event organizers plan to reach out to a number of different groups to engage with them on the topic of sexual assault prevention and awareness.

“We want to make sure that preventing sexual assault is something we address throughout our entire KU community,” Brockman said. “Sexual assault can affect everyone, and everyone can get involved in preventing it.”

Events scheduled include the placing of awareness flags on the Watson Library front lawn. Similar events are planned at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park and at KU Medical Center. This is the first time that the event will take place at the three different campuses.

Other key events during the month include tabling events at Wescoe Beach and a keynote speech, “Bout That Life: Bystander Intervention for Communities of Color,” from Chimi Boyd-Keyes, who speaks on this topic and others across the country. The speech is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 17 in the Big 12 Room in the Kansas Union.

The month will conclude with open bystander training sessions at the Kansas Union during the week of April 24.

A full schedule of events throughout the month is available at the SAPEC website. Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public, though some sessions require registration.

SAPEC is KU’s central coordinating office for KU’s sexual assault prevention and education programming. It was established in 2015 following a recommendation from the Chancellor’s Task Force on Sexual Assault.

Mon, 04/03/2017

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Andy Hyland

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