DASI plans sexual assault awareness event
NEWTON — Community agencies are partnering on April 15 to raise awareness of these issues and to present strategies to prevent sexual violence, with a focus on engaging the community in efforts to bring awareness and solutions to the epidemic of sexual violence.
Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Intervention Services, the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office, Newton Police Department and Ginnie's House Children's Advocacy Center will present The Clothesline Project and Coffee with a Cop.
The Clothesline Project will be displayed in Newton Town Square to honor victims and survivors of sexual violence and child abuse in a visual protest that bears witness to the pain and courage of those who have suffered.
Shirts decorated by survivors and those who care about them reflect each person's experience with interpersonal violence.
The concept of The Clothesline Project is simple: to let each person tell her/his own story in a unique way and hang it out for all to see. It is a way of airing society's dirty laundry, organizers said. T-shirts and material will be provided for those who wish to make their own visual statements about domestic violence, sexual assault or childhood victimization.
The public is invited to have Coffee With a Cop from 11:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. This will be followed by Sussex County Freeholder Gail Phoebus proclaiming April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Child Abuse Prevention Month. The programming also includes remarks by distinguished guests the Honorable Allison Blake, Ph.D. N.J. Department of Children & Families and Sussex County Prosecutor Francis A. Koch. Attendees also will be able to participate in the Sussex County Human Services Needs Assessment, with surveys available at the event and across the street at Family Partners of Morris/Sussex in their cafe at 67 Spring Street.
Sexual violence prevention must be a priority to confront the reality that one in six boys and one in four girls will experience a sexual assault before the age
18 (Dube et al., 2005).; and young people experience heightened rates of sexual violence. National statistics indicate that youth ages 12-17 are 2.5 times as likely to be victims of rape or sexual assault (Snyder & Sickmund, 2006). One in five women will be a victim of completed or attempted sexual assault while in college. (Krebs, Lindquist, Warner, Fisher, & Martin, 2007).
The 2015 National Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) campaign focuses on campus sexual violence. This campaign provides tools for healthy sexuality and sexual consent. Learn how you can play a role in promoting a healthy foundation for relationships, development and sexual violence prevention by contacting the DASI primary prevention team at info@dasi.org.
The public is invited to join the conversation and learn how to take action to make this community safer by attending the events that offer hope and solutions to the epidemic of sexual violence. For more information, call DASI at 973-579-2386.