April marks two very important awareness events:

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Sexual Assault Awareness Month:

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Campuses throughout New Hampshire will be holding events focused on awareness, education, and prevention. Many campuses are teaming up with their local crisis centers to host events.

Events include film screenings and discussions, awareness walks, guest speakers, and The Clothesline Project, a powerful visual display made up of t-shirts created by survivors of domestic and sexual violence or created in honor of someone who has experienced violence. You can learn more about The Clothesline Project here http://clotheslineproject.info/about.html. To see events that our members are hosting, check out our calendar.

As a Consortium, we’ll be participating in Denim Day on Wednesday, April 24th. On this day, millions of people across the world will wear jeans with a purpose, support survivors, and educate themselves and others about all forms of sexual violence. Some campuses and local community will be holding a Denim Day locally. Workplaces can participate as well, often requesting that employees make a small donation to the local crisis center in order to wear jeans. This Denim Day marks 20 years of protesting all the victim-blaming myths that are all-to-often used against victims of sexual assault. Perhaps you’re asking yourself: what does protesting rape myths have to do with wearing jeans? You can read up on the history here: https://www.denimdayinfo.org/about.

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National Crime Victims’ Rights Week:

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) is an annual event coordinated by the Office for Victims of Crime, being commemorated this year April 7–13. This year’s theme, “Honoring Our Past. Creating Hope for the Future.” celebrates the progress made by those before us as we look to a future of crime victim services that is even more inclusive, accessible, and trauma-informed. Each year, the NH Department of Justice, the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and Victims, Inc. work collaboratively with victim service agencies across the Granite State to recognize NCVRW. In 2018 the NH Campus Consortium became part of the group behind NCVRW efforts in NH.

In 2019, NH is taking the NCVRW campaign to social media in order to reach a broader audience. Stakeholders and community members across NH have been invited to join the social media campaign by sharing critical information about crime types, the realities facing NH crime victims, and the resources and services available to victims across our state.  The NH Campus Consortium will be joining this effort, with daily posts on our facebook page. YOU can take action by sharing posts as well—helping get this information out to your community and these vital resources to friends and family who may be looking for support.

For more information about NCVRW and the agencies who work tirelessly to serve NH Victims, please follow the following organizations’ social media:

Students, staff, faculty members, and alumni of NH colleges and universities can check your campus social media platforms to see if they are participating as well. Now is also a great time to start following or get to know your local crisis center, if you do not already. The list of NH crisis centers is here.

Finally, if you miss any resources during the week, check out the full list: https://www.nhcadsv.org/ncvrw-resources.html