Sexual Assault Awareness Month

What is SAAM?

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month! UWM, with support from the community, is committed to creating a space and a dialogue for sexual assault prevention as well as for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) is a campaign to raise public awareness about sexual violence and educate communities on how to prevent it. The UWM community has a longstanding history of coming together during the month of April to support survivors, speak out against rape culture, and raise awareness of systemic issues that allow sexual assault to persist so predominantly in our society. 

Although our campus has changed, the need for community is stronger than ever. This is the time for us to gather in new and creative ways, to celebrate our strengths, and continue stand in solidarity with and support survivors.

We encourage everyone to participate in the events highlighted in this year’s SAAM calendar and to stay connected with each of our campus partners on social media! 

Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2023

  • ALL APRIL- Denim Day Drive
  • Tuesday April 4th- Cruising 101 LGBTQ+RC 11:30-12:30 am
  • Wednesday April 5th – Denim Day Decorating AISC 11:00-1:00 pm
  • Tuesday April 10th- AKA Self Defense Class Klotsche Center (Group exercise Room 104) 11:00-2:00 pm
  • Tuesday April 10th- Condoms and Consent NWQ1871 5:30-6:30 pm
  • Thursdays April 12th- Restraining Order Information Session 12:30-2:00 pm
  • Wednesday April 19th- Swipe Safely WRC EG37 1:00-2:00 pm
  • Monday April 24th- Denim Decorating WRC 1:00-3:00 pm
  • Wednesday April 26th – Survivor Support and Wellness Fair @11-1pm UWM Union Concourse
  • Wednesday April 26th– Therapy Dogs Golda Meir Library 11:00-5:00 pm
  • Wednesday April 26th- Denim Day Art Installation Spaights Plaza 9:00-5:00 pm
  • Wednesday April 26th- Victim and Survivor Support and Wellness Fair Union Concourse 12:00-2:00 pm
  • Wednesday April 26th- Keynote by the Gerald L Ignace. Indian Health Center Union Concourse 2:30-3:30 pm

Events Calendar

View the Events Calendar for more information on all SAAM events.

Resources

UWM Campus Resources

  • Confidential Victim Advocate: 
    UWM’s Confidential Survivor Support and Victim Advocacy services continue to be available remotely to students who have experienced sexual, domestic, or relationship violence.  UWM’s confidential victim advocate helps survivors understand and navigate their options and can provide emotional support, as well as legal, academic, and medical advocacy.  The advocate can assist in locating and connecting students to online resources as well as resources in their community.For services or questions, please contact the advocate confidentially by phone at 414-229-4582 or send an email to victimadvocacy@uwm.edu. 
  • Title IX Information – Get Help and Learn Your Options 
  • Dean of Students – Make a Report

Off-Campus and Community Resources

Statistics related to sexual assault

  • As of 1998, about 1 out of 6 women and 1 out of 33 men in the United States have report having experienced completed or attempted rape at some point in their lives*.
  • About half (51.1%) of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance. Over half (52.4%) of male victims report being raped by an acquaintance and 15.1% by a stranger†.
  • As of 2015, 47% of transgender people reported having experienced sexual assault: 51% of transgender men, 37% of transgender women, and 55% of nonbinary people§.
  • 44% of lesbians and 61% of bisexual women experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, compared to 35% of straight women‡.
  • 26% of gay men and 37% of bisexual men experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, compared to 29% of straight men‡.

Sources: *https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence, †https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics, ‡https://www.hrc.org/resources/sexual-assault-and-the-lgbt-community, §https://www.ustranssurvey.org/reports

What is consent?

What is consent?

  • Freely given – decision is made by all participants without pressure, force, manipulation, or while drunk or high
  • Reversible – anyone can change their mind about what they want to do at any time, even if you’ve done it before or are in the middle of sex
  • Informed – be honest. for example, if someone says they’ll use a condom and then they don’t, that’s not consent
  • Enthusiastic – if someone isn’t excited, or really into it, that’s not consent
  • Specific – saying yes to one thing (like going to the bedroom to make out) doesn’t mean they’ve said yes to others (like oral sex)
    Information from Planned Parenthood

Consent 101:

  • People can change their minds
  • Body language is always important – if someone looks uncomfortable, they probably are
  • Don’t manipulate or pressure your partner into having sex/participating in sexual activities
  • No means no
  • Communicate

Consent from an asexual perspective:

Campus Partners

Thank you to all of those on campus who came together for SAAM: 

Student Health and Wellness Center, Victim Advocacy, Student Involvement, American Indian Student Center and Electa Quinney Institute , Southeast Asian American Student Center, Black Student Cultural Center, University Housing, UWM Libraries, Inclusive Excellence Center, The Military and Veterans Resource Center (MAVRC), LGBTQ+ Resource Center, Leaders Igniting Transformation, and Planned Parenthood Generation Action