Sexual Assault Awareness Month
For more than 10 years at UBC, Sexual Assault Awareness Month has raised awareness and encouraged people to take action to prevent sexualized violence. As we come together to do this work on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Sylix Okanagan Peoples, we recognize that sexualized violence is systemic and rooted in colonialism. We strive to eliminate this violence on a cultural, institutional, and personal level by addressing all forms of oppression.
The theme for SAAM 2022 is “Reclaiming Rage, Nurturing Love”. To end sexualized violence we must address the root causes including settler-colonialism, patriarchy, white-supremacy and other forms of systemic oppression. Our SAAM theme recognizes and honours two important sources of strength and resilience that make it possible to engage in this work – rage and love. Reclaiming rage is deeply transformative in a society that tells women, trans, 2Spirit, and other marginalized folks that we should accommodate the needs and desires of others while ignoring our own needs and desires. Reclaiming rage is about refusing the deny or minimize the widespread violence that causes various forms of systemic oppression. It is about allowing our anger to remind us of our worth and to propel our activism and advocacy. Nurturing love is equally transformative in an overly individualistic society that teaches us to see every other person as competition. Nurturing love is about building relationships and communities of solidarity, reciprocity, and care. It is recognizing that in order to change the world, we must first change the way we treat each other.
Reclaiming Rage, Nurturing Love
Join us this January to raise awareness and take action!
Events
What is Justice, What is Love? A Conversation with Kai Cheng Tom
Hosted by SFU
Open to: All
Join author and mediator Kai Cheng Thom for an experiential discussion on conflict, harm, social change and personal growth.
Sex Education at Home: Integrating consent into parenting & caregiving
with B.K. Chan
Partnership with Human Resources
Open to: All caregivers and parents
Consent education happens every day within the upbringing of a young person. The messages are clear — whether they be explicit and thought-out, or implicit by our avoidance or role modelling. Beyond giving, getting, or withholding consent, good consent skills also involves empathy, listening, and emotional resilience. This session will help diverse families integrate consent in the sex education in the home, and is suitable for those parenting or caring for babies, toddlers, kids, and teens.
Connected to the UBC Sexual Assault Awareness Month campaign to mobilize for the erasure of sexualized violence and its theme of “Reclaiming Rage, Nurturing Love “, good sex ed in the family promotes communication, openness, resilience, and conscientiousness.
Reclaiming Rage, Nurturing Love Resisting Settler-Colonialism and Gendered Colonial Violence
with Harsha Walia and Melina Massimo-Laboucan
Partnership with Indigenous Programs and Services
Open to: All
Join us for an evening with Melina Laboucan-Massimo and Harsha Walia! To close off Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2022, we will be hosting a discussion on this year’s SAAM theme, Reclaiming Rage, Nurturing Love with a specific focus on Resisting Settler Colonialism and Gendered Colonial Violence.
Healing and Understanding syilx Plantlife
with Krystal Withakay
Partnership with Equity and Inclusion Office
Open to: IBPOC folks
Krystal Withakay, a syilx facilitator, will be holding a space for IBPOC staff, faculty, and students to learn about healing through a deeper understanding of syilx plantlife and connection to this incredible land.
Join the re-defining manhood conversation
with Rob Giardino
Partnership with Health and Wellness
Open to: students, staff, faculty and community members who identify with masculinity.
Join us for this one-time workshop – meet new and past members of the group, engage in conversation around what healthy masculinity looks like, men’s mental health and healthy relationships, meet new people, play games – Snacks provided!
Click here for event poster
No Registration Required.
Virtual Indigenous Care Beading Workshop
with Greta Reid
Open to: students, staff, faculty and community members who self-identify as Indigenous, First Nations and/or Métis
This event is designed to create an Indigenous safe support space where Indigneous survivors and peoples can come together and partake in a beading workshop. The event will consist of a support space where Indigenous survivors can create a community within each other while partaking in a traditional activity. The month of SAAM can be emotionally heavy and this is an event where you can decompress and take space for yourself and your journey. You will be led through a beading workshop with support from elder and Indigenous counselor presence with the ultimate goal of finding space for healing within ourselves while being surrounded by culture. The materials are free and will be provided by SVPRO and can be picked up at the SVPRO office beforehand. We look forward to decompressing after SAAM and creating a healing space with you!
Past Events
Rest as Resistance
with Tiara Cash, Equitable Mindfulness Practitioner
Open to: students, staff, faculty and community members who self-identify as Indigenous, Black, or People of Colour (IBPOC).
Come join an hour of rest and rejuvenation as we explore the meaning of doing “nothing”. We will be taking time to practice fueling ourselves for stronger solidarity and justice movements.
Healing Centered Yoga, Trauma Informed
Partnership with REC
Open to: All
This class is designed to create a safe, supportive space in which people have personal agency and are given options for postures, movement, breathing, and where to place their attention. You will be lead through yoga postures called asanas to help facilitate a connection between mind, body, and soul. The postures, movements, and ways of breathing are gentle, slow, and facilitate calmness, but also allow space for self-paced movement. The language used helps to encourage people to explore movement and stillness as it feels suitable to where they are at, meeting their feelings and experiences with compassion. All are welcome, no experience required.
SAAM Movie Night – Featuring: Gaslight (1944)
Hosted by SVPRO-V
Open to: All
Join SVPRO-V for our 2022 SAAM event, a screening of the classic (and still terrifyingly relevant) 1944 movie Gaslight. SVPRO is also excited to provide a $15 Uber Eats gift card for the first 30 participants, so we can all enjoy some movie snacks together. Hope you can make it! Email svpro.okanagan@ubc.ca for calendar invite and zoom.
Colouring images
This artwork was created by Lucia Lorenzi, an illustrator based in Vancouver whose practice is influenced by her love of literature and tattoo culture, as well as her lived experiences as a feminist and survivor. She conducts research on representations of sexual violence in literature and other media.
Blog posts from students.ubc.ca
Consent: It’s as simple as tea
Whether it’s tea or sex, consent is everything
Yes! Sex and consent are inseparable
Boundaries help navigate relationships with others in safe and respectful ways.
Contact us
Contact SVPRO to learn more about SAAM or get involved in creating a culture of consent. We also support students, faculty and staff who have experienced sexual violence. We can help you explore your options.
Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office
Nicola Townhome 120, 1270 International Mews
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7 Tel 250-807-9640