April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). As part of this initiative, YWCA Lancaster is holding its annual campaign to address sexual violence and promote the prevention of sexual violence in the community. The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR) first partnered with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) in 2001 to coordinate the first nationally recognized Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) campaign in the United States. The 2020 theme, "I ASK," focuses on making consent a healthy and expected part of daily interactions and conversations.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many of the SAAM events have been canceled or are being held virtually.
The #30DaysofSAAM Instagram Challenge is a way to support survivors in a social distancing-friendly way. Past and new participants are encouraged to find the challenge to be an outlet to share creativity, hope, and connection. For the past seven years, advocates, survivors, and supporters have joined in the challenge.
Every day in April, an open-ended prompt will be provided. Participants may respond to the prompt by posting a photo, a collage, an illustration, digital art, a video, or other original content on their Instagram account using #30DaysofSAAM. NSVRC will choose one winner each day to highlight on its Instagram page and send a prize pack as a token of appreciation. Those who participate every day in April will be entered to win the grand prize. For a list of rules, criteria, and daily prompts to get started, readers may view the #30DaysofSAAM Challenge handout by visiting https://bit.ly/2WKky4K.
A virtual story time series will take place at noon on Thursdays, April 23 and 30. Children are invited to join educator Danielle Perez virtually on Thursdays on its Facebook page to read stories live and share potential activities to do together. To access the page, readers may visit http://www.facebook.com/YWCALancaster.
The Clothesline Project (CLP) will take place on Friday, April 24. The project is a program that was begun to address the issue of violence against women. The tradition is for women to pick a shirt color that coordinates to the specific abuse they want to address, decorate the shirt, and then hang it on a clothesline as a visual testimony to the problem of violence against women. All people are invited to participate. Due to the impacts of COVID-19, this year's CLP will take place virtually. Whether a person has experienced this violence firsthand or wants to honor someone who has experienced violence, they are invited to participate. Participants may view the design options by visiting http://www.clotheslineproject.info and clicking on "Gallery." They may submit an image of their design to Susan Hall at shall@ywcalancaster.org by April 24. Art will be curated into a virtual collage that will be displayed on the YWCA Lancaster's website, Instagram account, and Facebook page. For more information, readers may visit http://www.clotheslineproject.info.
Denim Day will be held on Wednesday, April 29. Participants are encouraged to wear jeans with a purpose, support survivors, and educate themselves and others about sexual assault. Participants may share photos of their jeans on social media using #DenimDay. To learn more about Denim Day and to register, readers may visit http://www.denimdayinfo.org.
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