Happy April, Hearts!

It finally feels like spring is here to stay, and we are ready to jump into action as we celebrate two very important awareness months. Although Joyful Heart works yearlong to raise awareness about our issues, April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and a great time to highlight the discussion about sexual assault. We are honored to join our partners across the nation in spreading information about ways we can prevent sexual assault and better serve survivors in their path to healing. There are many ways you can use your voice this month to help us bring attention to these issues.

SAY NO MORE
Go to www.nomore.org to pledge to say NO MORE to sexual assault and domestic violence. Ways to participate include:

1. Add the “NO MORE” symbol to your social networking sites
2. Tell us: what do you say “NO MORE” to?
3. Submit a photo to our gallery
4. Shop for NO MORE related products

WEAR JEANS WITH A PURPOSE ON DENIM DAY
On April 24th, Denim Day will unite people across the country to deliver the message that there is no excuse and never an invitation to rape.
Denim Day is a rape prevention campaign that takes place every year during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The first Denim Day was organized in 1999 by Peace Over Violence, a Los Angeles-based non-profit dedicated to building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence. The day grew out of 1998 Italian Supreme Court decision that overturned a rape conviction because the victim wore tight jeans. The judges reasoned the victim’s tight jeans meant that she had to have helped her assailant remove them, implying consent. Though this particular case occurred outside our own borders, the victim-blaming culture and myths about sexual assault exist within our own communities here in the United States.This year, millions of Americans and citizens worldwide will join together on April 24th to wear jeans in solidarity and say that sexual violence is never acceptable.
Denim Day events are being organized across the country. YOU can participate too—by wearing jeans or hosting an event to bring awareness to your community.

Los Angeles
To learn more about the events in Los Angeles, including tonight’s Dodgers game to support Denim Day, a film screening, productions of the Vagina Monologues and more, click here.

New York City
Joyful Heart’s New York City partners are holding a city-wide op-ed writing contest open to all college students. With the contest comes $500 cash prizes, but more importantly, the chance to raise awareness on your campus to end sexual violence. To lean more about the official rules, click here. To learn about other events happening in New York City, click here.
To learn more about what you can do to participate in the day from wherever you are, check out POV’s Denim Day toolkit here. And be sure to check out the some ideas for ways to raise awareness throughout the month from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

TALK ABOUT IT
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center provides resources about Sexual Assault Awareness Month to give us an opportunity to reflect and join together in unity as we take action and speak out against sexual assault and violence. The theme of the month this year is “Talk Early, Talk Often”, focusing on breaking the silence surrounding sexual assault. They provide tools to encourage parents to open up communication with children from an early age about these issues so they will develop the courage to end the cycle of violence. To learn more about this campaign, click here.
Every Tuesday during April, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center will host Twitter chats related to SAAM and ending violence, featuring experts in the field. Join the conversations using hashtag #TweetAboutIt to learn more about sexual assault prevention initiatives and interact with experts on these issues. To see the schedule and learn how to lend your voice (and handle!) to raise awareness about sexual assault and violence prevention, click here.

ADVOCATE AND TAKE ACTION
On March 29th, President Obama made an official proclamation declaring April Sexual Assault Awareness Month. In the memo, he emphasized that sexual violence is an affront to human dignity, and we all can do something to end it.

“All Americans can play a role in changing the culture that enables sexual violence. Each of us can take action by lifting up survivors we know and breaking the silence surrounding rape and sexual assault.”

Send a letter, make a phone call or sign a petition. The Violence Against Women Act was signed into law less than a month ago—contact your senator or representative thanking them for their vote to make communities safer for women and girls. If they voted against it, voice your disappointment.
To get involved and learn more about the Obama Administration’s efforts to end violence and abuse, visit: www.WhiteHouse.gov/1is2many.
 

Visit Break the Cycle and Love is Not Abuse to download and request tools that you can bring into your school and community—as a student or as an educator—to teach our youth about healthy relationships and consent.

While we know that violence and abuse don’t take the month off, we also know that together, our voices mean more engagement, more awareness, more unity. When we unite our voices together, we bring our world closer to the day without violence and abuse.