San José State’s Student Wellness Center is preparing several workshops and programs to bring attention to sexual assault awareness month.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) is about awareness and prevention of sexual assault, harassment and abuse.
Movements for change began to gain momentum during the movements in the 1940s and ‘50s where notable people like Rosa Parks and other women of color came together to advocate for gender-based violence. Teal is the official color of SAAM, according to the History of Sexual Assault Awareness Month webpage.
Alex Martinez, a second-year sociology student, shared the importance of highlighting how sexual harassment and assault can impact anyone.
“I think there is already a stigma surrounding sexual harassment and assault that bringing awareness is super important,” Martinez said.
April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which calls attention to sexual abuse, assault and harassment that can impact any person in any community, according to a different National Sexual Violence Resource Center webpage.
Around 81% of women and 43% of men experience some sort of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime, according to a 2018 national study on sexual harassment and assault from Stop Street Harassment.
“It can happen to all genders and even those in relationships, so having those resources on campus is necessary,” Martinez said.
Sexual assault is defined as a sexual act that is forced against someone's will, while sexual harassment has a broader definition that can include sexually explicit slurs and physical harassment such as indecent exposure without consent, according to the same national study.
While the Student Wellness Center holds resources year-round available to all students about safer sex, the center also has workshops for paying special attention to specific topics, such as its March 27 Sober Sex Workshop.
This workshop held an open discussion on consent, substance use and overall safer sex practices, according to a March 17 Instagram post from the Wellness Center.
Along with the Sober Sex Workshop, the Student Wellness Center will also be hosting a series of workshops throughout the month of April, according to an April 2 post on the Student Wellness Center’s Instagram page.
The series of workshops is in collaboration with SJSU Survivor Advocacy Services and SJSU Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) in which exploration, learning one's boundaries, hearing one's body and knowing the different types of healing options that are available are discussed at the workshops, according to the same April 2 post.
Arlene Abella, a resident assistant at SJSU and a third-year kinesiology student, plans to share resources with those living in her hall.
“At least with my residents, I promote the wellness center (Student Wellness Center) for free sex products or sanitary products like condoms or tampons,” Abella said.
At Survivor Advocacy Services, a confidential environment is provided for students and staff who have been impacted by sexual violence, domestic violence and stalking through services such as crisis counseling, according to a Student Wellness Center webpage.
“These programs are important to educate residents to expose them to subjects that might not be frequently talked about to them, especially freshmen. I just prepared them for situations that are common in college,” Abella said.
CAPS is a service provided through the Student Wellness Center for students who need psychological support via counselors available at the center, according to the CAPS webpage.
The center also provides sex education and free safer sex option products like dental dams and lubricants, according to the Healthy Sexuality section on the Wellness Center webpage.
“I think the promotion of these workshops have been good, but with topics like this, I think it's important to try to reach as big of an audience as possible and I always try to know what upcoming events that can help students are coming up,” Abella said.
Finn Albano, a first-year pre-nursing student, is aware of and utilizes some of the resources that the Student Wellness Center provides.
“I’ve been using their gender affirming care like HRT (hormone replacement therapy),” Albano said. “I've been getting testosterone from them for about a month, but I have heard of some of the workshops that the student wellness is having throughout this month.”
Gender-affirming care is designed to support and affirm someone's gender identity, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
At SJSU specifically, hormone-replacement therapy, psychological support and surgical procedures are used to affirm someone's preferred identity, according to the Student Wellness Center’s health services webpage.
“I'm glad these workshops are available for all students as it really can affect anyone from any community,” Albano said.
Beyond these workshops, the Gender Equity Center, PRIDE Center, Student Conduct and Ethical Development, Student Involvement and Office for Title IX and Equal Opportunity are also co-sponsoring and hosting programs under #SJSUSAAM that any student is welcome to participate in, according to the SJSU Gender Equity Center webpage.
“I felt very well informed when I was making this decision about my health,” Albano said. “The staff there were also really nice and knowledgeable on the topics they present to the student body.”
