SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH

April 2024: 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:  Click Here
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 2, 2024 | 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.

Friday, April 19, 2024 | Standing Silent Witness T-Shirt Making Event
9:00 am – 11:30 am CT
Resilience Headquarters (180 N Michigan Ave Ste 600, Chicago, IL 60601)

Join us at Resilience Headquarters as we make signs and t-shirts to use during
Standing Silent Witness, which will take place immediately afterwards. Bring your own
shirt to decorate! We will have a small amount of shirts available to use.

Friday, April 19, 2024 | Standing Silent Witness
11:45 am – 1:00 pm CT
Daley Plaza (50 W. Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602)

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 and hear directly from survivors. This event is free.

Registration will open soon – stay tuned for details!

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 | 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!