Sexaul Assault Awareness Month is now commemorating its 20th anniversary and the pandemic will not be stopping its mission. 

Every year the campaigns are different, calling out to different audiences or having different events, however the goal is the same.

SAAM is to spread awareness about sexual assault and share how it can be prevented. 

This issue is unfortunately something that wasn’t talked about as much decades ago. 

Sexual Assault is an issue that I take very dear to my heart, yet when I talk about it with people from other generations, I don’t understand their points and they don’t understand mine.

Maybe it is because sexual assault and anything that had to do with it was seen as a taboo for years. 

Spreading awareness about sexual assault helps fight the taboo that surrounds it. 

It empowers victims instead of shaming them. 

Everyone came to know about the dangers of sexual assault in college years ago.

As a way to fight the statistics, colleges all over hold events and workshops about SAAM during April. 

The University of Texas at El Paso shows their support of SAAM by having interactive sessions, workshops, campaigns and resources for the entire month.

While Covid-19 does cause a change of dynamics for this month, it doesn’t seem to stop the events that are now virtual.

The workshops vary from “Go Teal!” Social Media Campaign, Speaking Love Languages, “I Never Thought This Could Happen To Me” Survivor Group Session, “Strength in Support: An Educational Session for Secondary Survivors”, and more.

On April 28th, UTEP encourages their students to share a picture and tag their account to show their support for Denim Day. 

Denim Day is a day where people wear jeans to show support to survivors. 

It came from a 1998 Italian Supreme Court decision that overturned a rape case because the woman was wearing tight jeans. 

I did not know about Denim Day until 2020 through a Tik Tok hashtag, which shows the power of spreading awareness through social media. 

While more people become involved in these projects about spreading awareness, the statistics are still high. 

According to the Department of Justice, over 1.5 million women and about 800,000 men are raped or sexually assaulted annually in the United States, typically by their partners.

That is why these workshops about reading red flags in a relationship and how to say no, are so important for both women and men. 

Senior Lauren Barajas said, “I think sexual assault is something that often gets overlooked and isn’t talked about enough. 

“People too often blame victims or do not take them seriously.

“Our country needs to do something about that and protect those whose lives it has affected. 

“Being an outlet for people is necessary because they need to be heard and they need to know that their story is valid no matter the circumstances.”

I do believe that commemorating and showing support during this month is important, however it is something that as individuals we should do every single day of every month. 

SAAM is a time to find and give justice.