April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month

University of Maine at Machias, AMHC’s Sexual Assault Services and NextStep Domestic Violence Project will hold events in April to raise awareness and prevention about sexual assault.

According to the Rape Assault Incest National Network (RAINN), an American is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds. One out of every six women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. One out of every 10 rape victims are male. Twenty-one percent of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming) college students have been sexually assaulted, compared to 18% of non-TGQN females, and 4% of non-TGQN males.

April 2–29 — The Clothesline Project 

A public visual display of a clothesline is hung with shirts that bears witness to people who have experienced sexual and relationship violence exhibited in the months of April (Sexual Violence Awareness Month) and October (Domestic Violence Awareness Month).. Each shirt is decorated to represent a particular person’s experience, by the survivor or someone who cares about them.

The Clothesline Project will be open to the public and displayed in the Reynolds Center Student Union, University of Maine at Machias.

April 20 — Take Back the Night Rally/March

A worldwide event and an effort to end sexual violence, support survivors and remember those who have died as a result of sexual violence. The event involves educating attendees about the history of Take Back the Night, sexual assault statistics and support services available for those who have been sexually assaulted. The speak-out portion of the rally offers survivors of violence the opportunity to give voice to their experiences.  The march helps raise awareness in communities through the use of signs, T-shirts, chanting and other means of communication. The candlelight vigil will honor those who have lost their lives to sexual violence.

The event will start at 6 p.m. at the UMaine Machias Performing Arts Center. The march will follow the rally, leaving from the Performing Arts Center, proceeding to the Machias Chamber of Commerce (across from Helen’s Restaurant) and concluding with candlelight vigil at the Bad Little Falls park. Open to the public.

For more information about these events or to request a reasonable accommodation, call the UMaine Machias Counseling Center, 207.255.1343.

Contact: Stacey Cherry, 207.255.1343