This April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), a campaign to raise public awareness about sexual violence and educate communities on how to prevent it. This years campaign theme, I Ask, champions the message that asking for consent is a healthy, normal, and necessary part of everyday interactions.
2019 marks the official 18th anniversary of SAAM, but even before it’s official declaration, SAAM was about both awareness and prevention of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. Looking at the history of the movement to end sexual violence, it’s clear why: It’s impossible to prevent an issue no one knows about, and it’s difficult to make people aware of a problem without providing a solution. The two work in tandem, and they always have. From the civil rights movement, to the founding of the first rape crisis centres, to national legislation and beyond, the roots of SAAM run deep.
With this in mind, the Library would like to celebrate SAAM by sharing with you some of the great online resources we have to help you understand, and learn more about sexual violence and matters of consent:
- Journal of Sexual Aggression – This journal provides an international and interdisciplinary forum for the dissemination of original research findings, reviews, theory, and practice developments regarding sexual aggression in all its forms.
- A Country for my Daughter – Reducing sexual violence in South Africa sometimes seems an uphill battle against massive odds. But inspiring court battles that empower women and gender activists show how personal experience of horrific trauma have finally begun to change the way the law is applied. The film is filled with brave and moving appearances by victims, and demonstrations of public outrage.
- The Routledge Handbook of Gender and Violence – This eBook provides both a comprehensive and authoritative state-of-the-art overview of the latest research in the field of gender and violence.
- Dignity: A journal on sexual exploitation and violence – an open access, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal dedicated to publishing original articles on topics related to dignity, sexual exploitation, and violence.
- Men are Human, Women are Buffalo – this powerful documentary addresses a pervasive global Human Rights violation – violence against women.
If you have trouble accessing any of these resources, please contact us at the Library for assistance. If you have any questions about the issues raised in this post, please check out the CSU Respect. Now. Always. webpage, or call 1800RESPECT.