During April, Safer raised awareness for Sexual Assault Action Month, supported survivors and hosted a variety of resources and events. This included an open mic night, healing-centered yoga and a drag show, followed by Take Back the Night, an international survivor solidarity event.
Safer hosted 18 events during the month, hoping to foster a sense of community for survivors, while allowing a safe space for conversations surrounding sexual violence, said Claire Lopez, Safer’s Campus Crisis Advocate. Lopez believes having spaces to process is important for Cal Poly and the greater San Luis Obispo area.
“Creating a sense of community was one of our goals,” Lopez said. “We’re reminding folks that there’s a place of healing here.”
The concept of community was furthered through events like Take Back the Night. This event aimed to reclaim hours when women feel unsafe walking alone, which typically falls around the evening time.
Take Back the Night consisted of a symposium and march through the school. Multiple faculty members and students participated in this year’s symposium.
The morning symposium included breakfast and a letter-writing station, where attendees could write letters to sexual violence survivors, Lopez said. These letters were collected and put on display for the evening portion of the event.
Attendees marched to the Kristin Smart memorial and ended the night with a candlelight vigil.
Lopez said that she hopes students who participated can better “understand what their role is in preventing sexual violence.”
Awareness to action
The month’s theme of “Rise Up, Resist, and Reclaim” tied into the switch from sexual assault awareness to action.
“[Awareness month] originated from the 90’s feminist movement. However, we wanted to make sure that it was anti-oppression and have an intersectional framework,” Lopez said.
The name change to action was officially recognized in 2021.
“The reason why we went from Awareness Month to Action Month is promoting our collective responsibility to move beyond just awareness and to actually do something,” she said.
As of last year, Cal Poly had among the highest reports of sexual assault across the CSU system, as reported by Mustang News in a months-long investigation. Founded in 1996, Safer is considered to be the university’s main resource for advocacy and prevention education.
Alex Thein, a freshman Safer representative, said taking action comes in all different forms.
“Even if you see someone at a party…if something goes wrong, just going up and saying hi, that’s a small gesture that could stop a bigger event from happening,” Thein said.
Resources beyond SAAM
Safer is located within Campus Health and Wellbeing services, which collaborates with a variety of partners. According to Assistant Vice President for Communications Matt Lazier, wellbeing receives funding support from ASI, Career Services and OUDI, and programming support from Front Porch and Cal Poly Drag Club.
Counseling services are another a major resource for students who have experienced sexual assault. They provides short-term individual counseling, consultation and 24/7 crisis support to students who have experienced sexual assault.
Students can also join the Survivors Support Group, which recently started on April 19 and aims to explore ways to promote healthy coping mechanisms and build positive self-esteem. It will remain open to students for the next couple of weeks.
According to Lazier, there is also a trauma-informed training called the Community Resiliency Model, which educates participants about the nervous system’s reactions to trauma and teaches six core wellness skills to reset the nervous system’s natural balance. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to sign up.
Over the past 10 years, counseling services have adjusted their resources and programs to meet the needs of students, including adding 10 new counselors according to Lazier.
They also established the Trauma Task Force, made up of clinicians and counselors, to provide treatment and train faculty, staff, and students to respond to people who have experienced trauma.
For students hesitant to seek counseling services out of fear of mandated reporters, it is important to note they are required to report if they have reason to believe that a minor, elderly adult, or dependent adult is experiencing sexual abuse. For all other cases, counseling services encourage students to reach out with questions regarding confidentiality and mandated reporting.
The messages taught during this month are also important to follow for the rest of the year.
“Awareness should be continued throughout the year,” Thein said. “It’s not just a one-time thing. You should always have it on your mind, and how you can help others around you.”
Safer aims to reiterate these values as the quarter draws to a close, according to Lopez.
“Our vision at Safer strives to prevent all forms of gender and horror-based violence from occurring in campus walls, [and] nurturing a supportive and inclusive environment for all survivors,” Lopez said.