Pinwheels, T-Shirts Help Raise Awareness During SAFE Week
March 05, 2012 - Campus Bulletin
About 4,000 colourful pinwheels will appear on Branion Plaza today to mark the start of Sexual Assault Free Environment (SAFE) Week.
SAFE week is intended to raise awareness of sexual assault and the importance of personal safety and consent and respectful relationships.
The pinwheels represent statistically the number of undergraduate students who could be affected directly or indirectly by sexual assault. According to Statistics Canada, one of every four women and one in 10 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes.
“Sexual violence against women is not just a ‘women’s issue,’ it’s a human rights issue,” said Melanie Bowman of the University’s Wellness Centre. “It affects all of us, and we need to work together in a mutually respectful way to eradicate it.”
Events will include relationship workshops, displays in the University Centre and presentations.
On March 5, students may sign up on REG for a workshop to be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the University Centre, Room 103.
On March 7, campus and off-campus groups will hold a daylong awareness event in the UC.
A SAFE Week T-shirt campaign will take place March 12 to 16. Prizes will be awarded to male students who collect the most “solidarity signatures” on their T-shirts.
Free T-shirts will be available at the Wellness Centre, located on the second floor of the J.T. Powell Building (above Student Health Services), March 12 to 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Melanie Bowman at Ext. 56046 or mbowman@uoguelph.ca.
