Please note: this article contains mentions of sexual violence.

By Natalie Lim

Last December, while much of the SFU community was winding down for the holidays, the staff at SFU’s Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office (SVSPO) was hard at work.

January is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). In previous years, the SVSPO has hosted events across SFU’s three campuses to raise awareness about sexual violence and help the SFU community engage with this complex topic in meaningful ways. But this year, the team at the SVSPO knew SAAM had to be different—and not just because of COVID-19.

“For the first time this year, SAAM had a theme: ‘Centering Black, Indigenous and People of Colour,’” shares Belinda Karsen, an educational specialist at the SVSPO and SAAM’s main coordinator.

“From #MeToo to Black Lives Matter, the socio-political climate over the last few years has brought renewed attention to issues of systemic sexism and racism—and we also know that certain populations, such as Indigenous people and Black women, experience higher rates of sexual violence. We wanted to invite the campus community to think about the intersections between sexism and racism in a variety of ways.”

Another new addition to SAAM in 2021 was the SVSPO’s partnership with UBC’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office. This partnership allowed members of the SFU and Fraser International College (FIC) communities to participate in SAAM events hosted at UBC, and vice versa. Events ranged from “Let’s Get Sexucated!”—a trivia night hosted by award-winning educator Karen B.K. Chan—to a student-led conversation about consent and an introduction to transformative justice as a model for ending sexual violence.

“Over 100 students from SFU and UBC showed up for the trivia night—and we got feedback afterwards saying, ‘I wish my sex ed in high school had been like this,’” says Karsen. “That was so encouraging! It reminded me why we do this work, and demonstrated how students are willing to learn and engage in these issues.”

Supporting survivors

Another focus of SAAM this year was creating and amplifying resources for those who have experienced sexual violence. During the month of January:

• Nearly 700 SAAM-themed care packages were delivered to students living in residence, thanks to SAAM’s partnership with SFU Residence & Housing
• The #dearsurvivorsfu project encouraged SFU community members to submit messages of care and support for survivors of sexual violence, which artist Adriana Contreras turned into an art piece
• The SVSPO prepared a guide to culturally-sensitive campus and community support services for BIPOC people who have experienced sexual violence, alongside the office’s ongoing confidential support services for SFU and FIC community members

“This is our approach to all the work we do—we want to develop a range of resources because we recognize there’s no single experience of survivorhood, no one service or resource that will work for everyone,” says Karsen.

“We always strive to be survivor-centric,” says CJ Rowe, director of the SVSPO. “We want people to feel supported and empowered to make the healing choices that are right for them.”

What’s next

While Sexual Assault Awareness Month is now over, the conversation about sexual violence certainly isn’t. Through the rest of 2021, the team at the SVSPO will continue to host workshops, resources and discussions around sexual violence prevention at SFU, and they hope the community will join them in supporting this important work.

“As a campaign, SAAM is an invitation for folks to begin thinking about these complex issues or to engage with them in a new way—and to continue engaging with them as we move forward,” says Karsen.

Adds Rowe, “SAAM is about more than attending one workshop or event. It’s a call to action.”

“Ending sexual violence and misconduct will take all of us, and a lot of work, for the rest of our lives. But we’re doing this work on the shoulders of those who came before us. And we’re doing it so we can make the world better for all of the people who come after us.”