Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2022

Healing Through Community

Join the Alliance this Sexual Assault Awareness Month as we reflect on healing through community. Together, we can build survivor communities that provide solace, protect one another, and prevent further violence. This April, we have a variety of ways you can get involved in these conversations and start conversations of your own. Scroll down find out how you can join.

SAAM Events

The Alliance and affiliated member centers across the state will be hosting events and trainings all month long to celebrate and commemorate Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Click the link below to find an event near you!

Find an Event Near You!

Altars Across Connecticut

 

Where?

Hartford Public Library, Park Street Library at The Lyric, 603 Park Street, Hartford, CT

Center for Family Justice, 753 Fairfield Ave, Bridgeport, CT

Southern Connecticut State University – Engleman B 229, 501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT

Women Against Mass Incarceration – 840b State St, Bridgeport, CT

 

What is an Altar?

An altar is a physical space to embody the practice of connecting with your spirit. In many cultures and communities, altars provide a special place of honoring memories, beings, and spirits. So many of us and our loved ones have experienced sexual violence. Together, we reject the isolation this trauma impresses upon us. Instead, we invite you to honor the past, present, and future of survivors. 

 

These altars symbolize the lives and communities impacted by sexual violence, especially those who experience multiple marginalizations. May we continue building, healing, and honoring the resilience of survivors. Join us with care, love and remembrance to publicly and collectively explore the complexities of survivorship. 

Build Your Own

We invite you to create your own altar or tribute space with us. There is no wrong or right way to create one. There are no must-haves or must-dos. It can be as simple or as grand as you want it to be. 

May your altar reflect your dreams, wonder, healing, and evolve alongside you. Even when the world is cruel and unrelenting, remember as Toni Morrison says: “You are your best thing.”

 

Get started by clicking the link below for a step-by-step guide. 

Build Your Own

2022 Visionary Voice Award: Congratulations Rep. Liz Linehan

 

 

Join us in celebrating Representative Liz Linehan as we present her with the Visionary Voice Award this month and recognize her work to build safer communities for Connecticut children.

Since joining the Connecticut General Assembly in 2016, Rep. Linehan has been a steadfast and dedicated advocate for children and has used her position to increase the prevention of childhood sexual abuse and increased protective factors for children at risk. Representative Linehan is a collaborative and creative thinker who works both at the Capitol and in communities to identify solutions to complex problems while never forgetting the human impact of policy making. She works to bring survivors to the table, to make their voices heard, and to celebrate their resiliency.

During the past two legislative sessions, Representative Linehan championed legislation that would prioritize and divert resources to addressing child sexual abuse and youth mental health including require training and background checks for coaches and camp workers entrusted with the care of children, increasing the collection of statewide data about sexual violence experiences of youth, establishing protections to prevent online exploitation, and making it easier for child survivors to access the care they need regardless of their insurance. Representative Linehan is a thoughtful and strategic policymaker who focuses on building coalitions that strengthen our statewide responses to children who experience sexual abuse and shifting our culture to make sexual violence prevention the responsibility of every community member.

Full Circle

The Card Game for Community

 

As an organization of survivors and advocates, we know that healing involves letting down masks and getting vulnerable – with our friends, with our family (sometimes), and even with ourselves. Full Circle is a card deck of questions designed to help you have candid  conversations and learn more about yourself and those closest to you.

Explore your own concepts of connection, consent, boundaries, and values with this 50-card deck. Included tips from our certified sexual assault crisis advocates and staff will help you teach or learn active listening, grounding techniques, and conversation boundaries with other players. Grab a deck today and get ready to have deeper, fuller conversations.