This April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the Office for Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Advocacy is providing a safe space for conversation on campus.  

The Office for Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Advocacy is divided into three main sections: sexual health programming, prevention, and advocacy. Between these three sections, the office provides education regarding consent, contraception, bystander intervention and more. 

“It’s kind of like a one stop shop for everything relating to sexual health and sexual violence,” Assistant Director for Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Advocacy Molly Weiler said. 

The advocates within the office can help victims navigate reporting to the police or the university, filing protective orders, finding alternative housing and providing academic support. 

“Our advocates do a ton. They just work really hard for the students,” Weiler said. 

In terms of events for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the office has focused on building the IU community through events and conversation. 

“If we’ve experienced harm, if we get that support from our community, we’re going to be more likely to move forward from it in a way that’s healthy,” Weiler said. 

The office reached out to organizations such as IU Student Government, IU Panhellenic Association and Culture of Care to add messages to teal hearts placed throughout campus. 

Weiler notes that the office’s ‘Let’s Talk About Healing’ event featured a Qdoba taco bar, as well as a space to chat about health equity. Each element of the taco represented a different protective factor. 

“The meat and the beans were community care and social support. Self-care was the cheese because cheese is self-care,” Weiler said. 

The office even just hosted a Taylor Swift themed trivia night to start conversations regarding healthy relationships and relationship dynamics through the lens of Taylor Swift songs. 

“One of the phrases I use a lot is meet people where they are,” Weiler said. 

The office understands that sex and sexual assault is a taboo topic, so when talking about these topics they emphasize respecting each other’s boundaries. 

“There’s a certain level of getting comfortable, but also getting uncomfortable because that discomfort is how we grow,” Weiler said. 

If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual violence, IU Sexual Assault Crisis Services is available at (812) 855-8900, 24 hours a day.