Collegiate Times

October is Sexual Violence Awareness Month and many campus activities are taking place to raise awareness of sexual violence issues, violence against women and dealing with situations when violence does occur. The activities sponsored by the Office of Violence Against Women ? Campus Grant Program are working to raise attentiveness to gender-based violence and preventing violence against women, not only in our campus community but everywhere. The variety of programs offered this month are intended to provide information and make the campus community aware of the prevalence of gender-based violence in the world today.

The Stop Abuse website, www.stopabuse.vt.edu, gives specifics of the campus events that have occurred thus far and will continue to occur throughout the month of October.

The White Ribbon Campaign, which took place last week in many campus locations, featured the efforts of men to end violence against women. Wearing the white ribbon was a personal pledge to never commit or remain silent about violence.

The Clothesline Project allowed women affected by violence to decorate a shirt and hang it on the Drillfield clothesline so that others could bear witness to the tremendous problem of gender-based violence.

The Love Your Body Day Discussion, to be held Oct. 18 in the Women?s Center, will likely prove to be another significant event that gives women a voice.

The campus events being held throughout this month to raise awareness of sexual violence and violence against women are positive and a step in the right direction.

It is important for the campus community to be aware and careful. According to a survey conducted by the Town of Blacksburg through the National Research Center, 90 percent of responding citizens claimed to feel safe after dark. While this statistic is encouraging in that it is important for people to feel safe in their own town, at the same time we should never feel too safe.

It is important to support and take part in Sexual Violence Awareness month, even if you do not feel you have a direct tie to it, because that could easily change in an instant. This is not just a women?s issue, but rather a community issue, as sexual violence is not only committed against women. Also, many men would not want the important women in their lives to have to endure any sort of abuse.

Sexual Violence Awareness month deserves to be paid attention to because it affects so many of us, even if we do not realize it. The issues of sexual violence, and specifically violence against women, often fly under the radar. This month?s events are a great opportunity for everyone to get involved, raise their own awareness, and work towards stopping violence against women.