The LLCC Student Government Association is sponsoring a T-shirt fundraiser this year to help raise awareness of domestic or intimate partner violence and sexual assault. You might not know it, but statistically, it is very likely that you know someone who has been impacted by intimate partner violence and/or sexual assault. One out of every six American women has been the victim of attempted or completed rape. One in four women and one in nine men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence and/or stalking. People of color, people with disabilities and people in the LGBTQ community experience even higher rates of sexual and intimate partner violence. SGA is taking a stand against this violence and in support of survivors, and you can, too!

At LLCC, many of the awareness and prevention programs focus on reminding the community that Awareness + Action = Social Change. SGA has partnered with LLCC Compliance & Prevention and Student Life to provide our community with a reminder of the importance of awareness and action in the form of a T-shirt! All students who participate in Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month activities will receive a shirt. In addition, all LLCC staff and faculty have the opportunity to buy this shirt with all of the proceeds going in support of agencies that serve the LLCC area. The deadline to order is April 6. Proceeds will benefit Sojourn Shelter & Services and the Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault.

Access T-shirt order forms. Every purchase is greatly appreciated!

• Sojourn Shelter & Services gives safe refuge to victims of domestic voilence and provides support services including legal advocacy, crisis support and counseling for victims and children. View more information about the Sojourn Shelter. Donate to the Sojourn Shelter.
• The Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault works to help survivors of sexual assault by providing medical and legal advocacy, crisis support and counseling, and it also endeavors to prevent sexual assault in the first place through community education and activism. View more information about the Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault. Donate to the Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault.

Both organizations do wonderful work that helps provide support to victims of violence in our communities. In addition, Sojourn and PCASA both support LLCC by providing programming and informational materials as well as participating in campus taskforces focused on gender-based violence prevention and education. During a time where COVID has halted their usual fundraising events, these organizations need our support now more than ever. Every T-shirt purchased is an important step to a world where we need not worry about the issues that plague us today.

If you are not interested in a T-shirt but still want to help, please donate money to these organizations or any number of other similar shelters/organizations dedicated to combatting violence.

References:

• Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2019). National Crime Victimization Survey, 2018.
• U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2014). Nonfatal Domestic Violence, 2003-2012. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf.
• Center for Disease Control (2010). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: An Overview of 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation.