SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH

April 2023: Connecting Communities; Envisioning Equity

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Resilience, along with participating organizations, will be hosting virtual events and a fundraising campaign to raise awareness of sexual violence and support community efforts to prevent it.

SAAM Challenge Fundraising Campaign

The SAAM Challenge is a fundraising campaign that was created for individuals, organizations, and businesses to raise funds throughout April in support of Resilience’s free programs and services for survivors.

This year, our fundraising goal is $20,000.  We would like to have as many people as possible participate in our SAAM Challenge and hope everyone will join us in whatever way works for them. Participation can look like donating, starting a fundraiser, or simply sharing our messages with your friends and family.

Link to SAAM fundraising toolkit:  https://www.ourresilience.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/SAAM-2023-Fundraising-Toolkit.pdf
Link to donate to Resilience: https://resilience.salsalabs.org/donate/index.html
Link to create your own SAAM fundraiser: https://resilience.salsalabs.org/fy23saam/index.html

Events

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 | National SAAM Day of Action – Wear Teal
All Day
Social media everywhere
Each year on the first Tuesday of April, supporters bring awareness to Sexual Assault Awareness Month by wearing teal. Share a selfie of your teal look on social media, tag @ResilienceChi, and use #SAAM and #SAAMChi.

Thursday, April 6 | Workshop: Community Accountability: Supporting a Friend Who Was Harmed; Practical Skills for Supporting Survivors in Your Life
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Virtual via Zoom
Click here to register.
Nationally, there are more survivors than rapists in jail. Additionally, jail and prisons are also places where sexual violence occurs. Given this reality, join us to discuss and build accountability practices rooted in community. This workshop will help participants build practical skills to support friends and loved ones who have experienced sexual violence. For more information, please contact rdahlman@ourresilience.org.

Wednesday, April 12 | Standing Silent Witness T-Shirt Making Open Studios
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 28, 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Resilience Central Office, 180 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 600
Click here to register.
Resilience is hosting two open studios to decorate t-shirts with stories and statements that bring awareness to sexual violence. These t-shirts are worn to display our messages against rape culture while we silently protest at our signature SAAM event Standing Silent Witness. T-shirts, materials, and examples will be provided. Attendees are not required to attend Standing Silent Witness to participate in the open studios, all are welcome to create with us. Breakfast will be provided at the April 28 open studio, and we will walk together from the Resilience office to Daley Plaza where Standing Silent Witness will begin at 12 p.m.

Thursday, April 13 | Know Your Rights
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Virtual via Zoom
Click here for the Zoom link.
Join Legal Aid Chicago and Resilience for a virtual presentation on the civil, criminal, and medical rights and options of survivors of sexual violence.

Thursday, April 13 | Workshop:  Community Accountability: Supporting a Friend Who Has Caused Harm; Skills for Practicing Accountability with Someone Who Caused Harm
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Virtual via Zoom
Click here to register.
Nationally, there are more survivors than rapists in jail. Additionally, jail and prisons are also places where sexual violence occurs. Given this reality, join us to discuss and build accountability practices rooted in community. This workshop will help participants build practical skills to support friends and loved ones who have caused sexual violence. For more information, please contact rdahlman@ourresilience.org.

Sunday, April 16, 2023 | Speaking of Survival
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm CT
Virtual
Click here to register.
Speaking of Survival is designed to give voice to survivorship through poetry; foster creative permission, inspiration, and collaboration; provide opportunities for fresh dialogue and deeper literary and broader community connections, particularly among those affected by sexual violence; and raise funds in direct support of survivors of sexual violence in the Chicagoland area. Hosted virtually by Olney Magazineand Raegen Pietrucha to benefit Resilience, Speaking of Survival features writers who will read, among other work, poetry they wrote on the many facets of sexual violence survivorship.

Thursday, April 20, 2023 | Breaking the Silence
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CT
Virtual
Click here to register.
Breaking the Silence is a virtual open mic night for local Chicago artists to share their stories of survival and resistance through poetry, spoken word, and more. We encourage performers of all ages, languages, and backgrounds to stand up against sexual violence.  More information on performers and registration will be coming soon.

Monday, April 24, 2023 | Partners of Sexual Assault Survivors Workshop
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm CT
Virtual
Click here for more information.
A free, two-hour workshop for partners of people who have experienced sexual violence, ages 18+ and all genders welcome.  Must live in IL.  Individuals, couples, or partner groups (survivors and non-survivors) are welcome and encouraged to attend.  This workshop will give guidance on ways to support your partner, how to better respond to your partner’s needs, work through intimacy concerns, and process feelings.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 | Denim Day
All Day
Social media everywhere
Denim Day is a campaign on a Wednesday in April in honor of SAAM. The campaign began after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped the person who raped her remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Please wear denim, share photos, and tag Resilience (@ResilienceChi) on social media!

Friday, April 28, 2023 | Standing Silent Witness
11:45 am – 1:00 pm CT
Daley Plaza (50 W. Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602)
Click here to register.
Resilience’s signature SAAM event. In a visual demonstration of the silencing of survivors, participants gather silently for one hour wearing t-shirts with stories and messages protesting sexual violence and rape culture. We invite participants to sit or stand for as long or short as they’d like. This powerful event includes community members, advocates, volunteers, and survivors amplifying stories that are too often ignored as a way to break the silence about sexual violence. At the end of that hour, we will break the silence by chanting messages of support. This event is free.