Sexual Violence Prevention Initiative team (Left to right, top to bottom): Dee Dooley, Sally Oppong, Jordyn Monaghan, Krystal Lowe, Olivia Landy
April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), a time for communities to come together to talk openly about sexual assault, increase knowledge and awareness, and help to make survivors feel acknowledged and supported.
As part of the annual awareness campaign, the Saint Mary’s Sexual Violence Prevention Initiative (SVPI) participated in a movement called “Survivor Love Letters”.
The initiative was started by artist and survivor, Tani Ikeda, who has become a well-known spokesperson for the survivor community. In 2012, Ikeda penned a letter to her younger self that closed with the words, “This is my survivor love letter.” From there, a letter-writing campaign rippled through survivor and ally communities.
This year, the SVPI encouraged members of the SMU community to pen similar letters to survivors sharing their heartfelt messages of support and validation. Faculty, staff and students submitted anonymous messages which were then posted around campus to demonstrate support and help start open conversations.
“We wanted to engage in the Survivor Love Letters movement at SMU to foster a sense of community while letting survivors know that they are not alone and that they are believed,” explains Krystal Lowe, Coordinator, Sexual Violence Prevention Initiative. “By sharing these letters and talking openly about sexual violence, we help create survivor-centered resources and reinforce messages of resilience, resistance and hope that can be accessed all throughout the year”
The Sexual Violence Prevention Initiative, under the Sexual Violence Support Centre (SVSC) is a team of students who are passionate about the education and prevention of sexual violence at Saint Mary’s and beyond. “Creating awareness at an institutional level is crucial,” explains Dee Dooley, Sexual Violence Advisor, SVSC. “Campaigns like Sexual Assault Awareness Month and support initiatives like Survivor Love Letters help bring these issues to light and improve perceptions that can lead to a shift in cultural attitudes towards sexual violence.”
The SVPI received overwhelming support in the Survivor Love Letters movement. “The community engagement throughout this initiative has highlighted how much power there is in our collective voice,” states Lowe. “It honours survivors in the community and emphasizes the importance of sharing experiences in a way that lets survivors empathize with one another and realize that they are not alone.”
The letters resounded with expressions of affirmation that survivors are valid, loved, worthy and believed. “Regardless of what happened, your experience, emotions, and trauma are valid,” shares one anonymous author. “Our experiences do not define us,” writes another author. “Our voices matter.” The letters will be made available for viewing through the Sexual Violence Support Centre.
The Sexual Violence Support Centre at Saint Mary’s provides support, learning resources and events for students.