Month targets sexual violence

On the heels of a recent downtown rape, local advocates hope to use the next month to raise awareness of sexual violence.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the Orange County Rape Crisis Center has several events planned to bring attention to the problem.

Chapel Hill Police Department domestic violence and sexual assault specialist Sabrina Garcia said 41 cases of sexual assault have been reported this year.

That number includes incidents ranging from sexual assault and rape to indecent exposure and secretly peeping, she said.

Eight of the incidents were reported rapes.

But not included in that figure is the number of incidents that go unreported.

“Sexual violence is one of the most underreported crimes,” said Krista Park, community response director at the center.

“The numbers really don’t reflect how often the events can be occurring.”

To combat the problem, the rape crisis center is working in tandem with the Carolina Women’s Center and Advocates for Sexual Assault Prevention during Women’s Week, which began Monday.

An ongoing event is the Clothesline Project, a national project that will display T-shirts with messages illustrating the effects of sexual violence at locations throughout the community.

Some of the T-shirts are on display in the Student Union, bearing messages such as: “You were eighteen. I was fifteen. I said NO, But you called yourself a man.”

“(Making the shirts) makes the issues of violence and how people feel about it come to life,” said Diane Kjervik, director of the women’s center.

Margaret Barrett, executive director at the rape crisis center, said the public cannot turn a blind eye to the issue.

“The fact is that sexual violence is happening,” she said. “It’s a difficult issue for people to talk about, but we need to break the silence so we can create an environment where people can come forward, know they’re not alone and it’s not their fault.”

From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. April 14, the center will hold a reception at the N.C. Women’s Hospital to honor UNC Hospitals’ Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program for enhancing evidence collection in sexual assault cases.

At 7:30 p.m. April 18 in Bingham Hall, sexual violence survivors and other volunteers will read and perform written works at the center’s third annual Shout Out Against Sexual Violence, co-sponsored by the advocates.

The public can e-mail its works to shoutout@ocrcc.org. The deadline for all entries is April 8.

The center also will join the Eastgate Shopping Center Hallmark on April 19 and the University Mall Hallmark on April 22 in a Beanie Baby fund-raiser.

All of the money raised will go directly to the center, Barrett said.

More information can be obtained by visiting the center’s Web site at http://ocrcc.org/.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.