Beginning in the late 1970s in England, protesters began protesting against the violence they received while simply walking through the streets at night. Many have tried to recreate these marches but the origins were named the “Take Back the Night” marches. The first official American march took place in San Francisco and New York City in 1978. While the movement began with only focusing on women's issues, it has grown to cover males and other non-binary genders.
SAAM is a branch from an earlier awareness of domestic violence, which has its own awareness month in October. As domestic violence does not entirely cover the spectrum of sexual assault, advocates against sexual assault wanted a separate time to focus on solely sexual assault.
SAAM began in the late 1980s and after polling the country, the decision was to host a national Sexual Assault Awareness Week. Which in the 1990s after much enthusiasm and an entire month of planned events, became Sexual Assault Awareness Month, thanks to an uproar of support.
The first U.S. observed Sexual Assault Awareness Month began nationally on April 1st, 2011. The theme for 2016 is “Prevention is Possible” which hopes to end sexual assault at the source and before it happens.
If you or someone you know would like to speak with a counselor or find out more information about how they can help or be helped, you can contact any of the following:
- SAPAC
- CAPS
- SafeHouse Center
- Office of Student Conflict Resolution
- Office of Institutional Equity
- Spectrum Center
Contributed By: Destiny McMillin