“This is designed to help everyone in the community with a difficult topic. It’s an opportunity to get information from a safe distance,” said Melinda Van Noord, Clark State counseling coordinator.
Kicking things off is Project Woman’s “What Were You Wearing?” exhibit, on display at the Sarah T. Landess Technology and Learning Center (TLC) rotunda on the Leffel Lane campus through Friday. The exhibit contains stories of sexual assault survivors and the clothing they wore.
Van Noord said previous displays have led students to seek counseling, in some cases their incidents had occurred years before.
“It says ‘I’m not alone, that it’s OK to talk about it,’” she said. “Survivors can get support, that it’s not their fault.”
A new feature this year will see Emily Parsons of Project Woman lead a Sexual Violence Day of Action program, noon to 1 p.m. today on the campus in Room 139 of the TLC. Participants will learn information including bystander intervention skills, consent and resources for victims.
From 9-11 a.m. Wednesday, an interactive collaborative art experience will be available with artist Kristi Limes at the “What Were You Wearing?” exhibit. The art component proved popular after being introduced last year and helps in dealing with negative emotions.
April 10 will bring the Empty Chair campaign, designed to raise awareness and prevention of incidents of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and other forms of interpersonal violence on campus.
This will feature teal folding chairs across the campus with notes on why a victim wasn’t on campus that day. An example includes a student riding a bus who saw someone who reminded them of an abuser. This exhibit is to remind that this type of violence can impact many areas of life and affect activities.
The community can also support awareness efforts in easy ways. April 12 will be Ohio Wears Blue Day, representing the color of child abuse prevention awareness — which is marked in April — to show support for young victims. Wearing teal on April 19 will show support for victims of sexual abuse as teal represents prevention.
“It’s important community members are aware of the resources and are educated about victim blaming,” said Van Noord.
For information or resources, contact Project Woman at 937-328-5308 or go to projectwomanohio.org/.
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