September is Rape Awareness Month at MU, and the RSVP Center is hosting events throughout the month.
The RSVP Center chose September because it is early in the academic year.
“I think (Rape Awareness Month) is something specific to Mizzou,” RSVP Center graduate assistant Melissa Munoz said. “It is in the beginning of the year and very important. We know it is very important to raise the awareness of students as early as possible, as rapes and assaults begin to occur very early in the school year.”
Green Dot Mizzou kicked off the month Sept. 6 on Lowry Mall.
“The Green Dot is our prevention program,” RSVP Center Coordinator Danica Wolf said. “It is basically the idea that no one has to do everything to stop these issues, but everyone can do something.”
The event promoted the Green Dot Conference at the end of September, and RSVP representatives handed out pens, candy and information about the upcoming conference.
In addition, RSVP is hosting an event called Rock Against Rape.
”We have different bands come out and other musical groups, a dance group, the Missouri Contemporary Ballet, come out to perform for our events,” RSVP educator and intern Lysaundra Campbell said. “(Students) can listen the music (and) poetry, and these raise their awareness about violent through the various types of arts.”
Speak Out and Stand Up will feature the movie “Speak,” offering students a chance to get more valuable knowledge about how they can make campus safer. The film features Kristen Stewart as a sexual assault survivor.
“(“Speak Out and Stand Up”) shows the events leading up to the rape, including some times when her friends or his friends could have intervened, done a green dot, but they did not,” Wolf said.
After the showing, there will be a discussion about the film.
Members of Stronger Together Against Relationship and Sexual Violence plan a lot of the events, including STARS Speaks.
“It will be here in our center, and we will just basically talk about the Clothesline Project,” Campbell said.
Survivors of sexual violence as well as family and friends of survivors can decorate T-shirts in support of sexual violence prevention.
“It is a kind of visual and spectacular thing,” Campbell said. “It is a very cool event.”
Wolf said she thinks this month, with so many events planned, will make a difference.
“So often people think rape is a taboo thing to talk about, something that many people experience but no one likes to talk about. But, it is ok to talk about.” she said. “People also tend to think that they can’t do anything to stop it, but that is simply not the case. You can do something.”
