LACASA hosting series of events on sexual assault awareness

LACASA Center is hosting three events this month to increase awareness about the myths and misconceptions surrounding sexual assault, including the Clothesline Project, Denim Day, and a community forum entitled “#MeToo. HERE TOO.” April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The mission of LACASA includes helping victims of interpersonal violence and providing educational programs to increase community awareness.

This month, every library in Livingston County is participating in LACASA’s 20th annual Clothesline Project. The project features T-shirts created by local abuse victims, which convey powerful messages about their experiences and their messages to abusers.

The Clothesline Project, started in 1990 by a group of women from Massachusetts, is a way for abuse and assault victims to tell their stories through art. Libraries hosting displays include Brighton Area District Library, Fowlerville District Library, Hamburg Library, Hartland Cromaine Library, Howell Carnegie Library, and Pinckney Community Library.

Also in April, LACASA invites area residents, businesses and organizations to join in its Denim Day activities on Wednesday, April 25, 2018.

Denim Day is an international day of activism, sparked when an Italian court overturned a rape conviction. The judges said that because a victim wore tight jeans, she must have helped the assailant remove them, thereby implying consent. This 1999 legal decision triggered worldwide outrage, and Denim Day emerged as a way to raise awareness about consent and victim blaming.

LACASA is offering free Denim Day awareness stickers and posters to anyone from the community via pick up or mail. It also provides ideas on its website about ways individuals and organizations can get involved locally.

The third awareness event is set for Friday, April 27, when LACASA presents a free multimedia event and community forum entitled “#MeToo HERE TOO.” Film and video clips will be interspersed with thoughtful discussion points provided by local experts on sexual assault. Members of LACASA’s Teen Advisory Council also will participate in the forum, which will include conversations on ways the public can support local victims and survivors.

The free event starts at 7 p.m. in the Historic Howell Theater, 315 E. Grand River Ave., Howell. Space is limited and guests are encouraged to arrive early to secure complementary admission tickets and preferred seating.

“In this age of the ‘Me Too’ movement, it is more important than ever that we come together as a community and have conversations,” said LACASA Community Education Director Nicole Matthews-Creech.

“We invite the public to take part in our awareness events this month,” said Creech. “When we are empowered with ways to support survivors, we can make a remarkable difference in their lives.”

For information about any of LACASA’s awareness programs, visit lacasacenter.org, or contact Nicole Mathews-Creech at 517-548-1350.


ABOUT LACASA: LACASA Center is a nonprofit agency located in Livingston County, MI, that helps local victims and survivors of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault. The organization also provides community-wide education programs on abuse awareness and prevention. Learn more at lacasacenter.org.


 

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The Livingston Post is the only locally owned, all-digital information and opinion site in Livingston County, Mich. It was launched by award-winning journalists who were laid off from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus by Gannett Co. Inc. in 2009.