"It's an issue that gets silenced a lot and gets overlooked still in the criminal justice system, in campus, everywhere," Joahn Sperry, the lead advocate for the Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention and Prevention Office at USC, said about sexual assault on Tuesday.
She and other members of SAVIP spent the morning at a table at the Greene Street Farmers Market handing out brochures and teal ribbons, as well as encouraging people to paint T-shirts for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The teal ribbon stickers were given out to be put on clothing as a sign of solidarity.
"We want people to put messages out there that say, 'Look, we're not going to put up with this, but if you've gone through it, we're here to help you and we support you. You're not alone if you've been assaulted,'" Sperry said.
The painted T-shirts are a part of the Clothesline Project, a national awareness campaign in which individuals paint shirts in an effort to support survivors of sexual assault. Megan McDowell, a student in the counselor education program and a SAVIP Office graduate assistant, has spearheaded the Clothesline Project, which will be displayed on Davis Field April 17-21.
"It’s a way to allow survivors and others impacted by sexual assault to not only raise awareness but paint shirts to engage in the healing process for empowerment, support, encouragement," McDowell said.
The project is one of several events this April which will spread awareness. USCPD will be hosting Denim Day the Wednesday before the first week of exams. This day is observed through events across the country in memory of an assault case in Italy which was dropped because the victim's jeans were said to be too tight for another person to have taken them off of her. USCPD members will be on Greene Street handing out information and engaging in conversations about sexual assault.
April is an active month for the SAVIP office; however, their work does not stop there. Advocacy, education and consultation services are available to students year-round.
Second-year higher education and student affairs graduate student Alia McAdams is a practicum intern in the SAVIP office. She said that the effect the SAVIP office has on students is clear.
"I think my favorite part is seeing the passion that the staff has for helping the students. They just care so much and it's just so beautiful to see that," McAdams said.
For information on SAVIP resources or to report an assault, students are encouraged to visit http://www.sc.edu/stopsexualassault.