April focuses on sexual assault awareness in Merced

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the Valley Crisis Center is planning several events, including a Denim Day fundraiser to help survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

Advocates are asking community members to support the awareness effort by donating $5 before April 27, which is internationally recognized as Denim Day to protest against misconceptions that surround sexual assault. Those who donate will be given a Denim Day button, said Program Director Chee Yang.

“Sexual assault happens to everybody, regardless of their race, gender identity or their circumstances,” Yang said. “We want the community to be aware that they’re being supported by Valley Crisis.”

The center helped more than 400 people countywide in the last year who reported being victims of sexual assault, according to Yang. One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives, according to a 2010 study by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Denim Day stems from a 1992 case in Italy. An 18-year-old Italian woman brought an accusation of rape against her 45-year-old driving instructor in Muro Lucano, 60 miles from Naples. The man was convicted, but he appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned the conviction, saying her jeans would have been too tight to remove without her consent, according to reports from that year.

Female lawmakers in Italy protested the court’s decision by wearing jeans and the case was held up by advocates as a miscarriage of justice.

Advocates said they are hoping to exceed last year’s total of $3,000 raised through the effort. The money benefits victims in need of basic daily toiletries, clothes and other items.

Along with the fundraiser, advocates are pushing awareness efforts at Merced College and UC Merced. Val Villanueva, a sexual assault prevention specialist, said she maintains an office at Merced College when school is in session.

The center has had a relationship with the community college campus for three years, she said. “The program is picking up in the last year there,” she said.

As a confidential resource, students who believe they were victimized can speak to Villanueva without having to file a police report. Victims may be embarrassed and afraid to speak with police, advocates said.

Merced College also plans a Clothesline Project event at its main campus and the Los Banos campus on April 18 and 20, respectively. Survivors, advocates and others will be able to express themselves and visualize the experiences of others by hanging representative items of clothing on a clothesline.

Also this month, UC Merced will host a number of events and educational efforts, many of them board-game themed, according to Taylor Fugere, program coordinator for UC Merced’s Campus Advocacy, Resources and Education Office.

Fugere said part of the effort is to educate bystanders on recognizing when someone is in a potentially dangerous situation, and how to intervene.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 7:09 PM with the headline "April focuses on sexual assault awareness in Merced."