Throughout April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month calls attention to the fact that sexual violence is widespread and impacts every person in the community. To help spread this message and connect students with resources, Augusta University hosted a tabling event highlighting campus and community partners that provide health and sexual assault services. 

Many of the partners that took part in the awareness campaign also offer support for those affected by sexual violence, including: 

• Title IX Office: (706) 721-5144  
• Augusta University Police Department: (706) 712-2911  
• Student Counseling & Psychological Services (SCAPS): (706) 737-1471  
• Student Health Services: (706) 721-3448  
• Sexual Assault Response Center (SARC): (706) 724-5200  
• Wellstar MCG Health: (706) 721-0211 

Coordinated through the Office of Student Wellbeing, the event brought together resources to help students with knowledge, support, confidentiality and assistance. Morgan Davis, director of the Office of Student Wellbeing, emphasizes that Sexual Assault Awareness Month creates an open dialogue to educate students on how to foster healthy relationships, whether in romantic relationships or not, while also raising awareness of sexual assault statistics. 

“It is important for students to be aware of the resources available on campus and in the local community so that they can know where to go should they need support themselves, or to direct one of their peers to a resource they may need,” Davis said. “We want to inspire a community of care where our students, faculty and staff look out for each other and do their best to help. Events like these hopefully help students see the close connections that our on-campus services have with local services off campus that really speak to continuity of care, to ensure students get what is needed depending on whatever situation they may be in.”

Among the tabling participants, the Title IX Office administers the University System of Georgia Board of Regents Sexual Misconduct Policy, requiring educational programs and activities to operate in a nondiscriminatory manner, including recruitment, admissions, financial aid, athletics, sex-based harassment, pregnancy, discipline and employment.  

“Sexual Assault Awareness Month is important because we want to educate and stop it before it happens,” said Kymyetta Turner, Title IX investigator. “Awareness helps people to understand what sexual assault is. Unfortunately, in many cases, people experience sexual assault but aren’t able to recognize it for what it is, and this event allows us to educate people and bring the resources right to them.”  

Turner encourages all students to reach out and learn about the resources available to them. For example, the office offers workshops for faculty, staff and students about sexual assault response, consent, healthy relationships, sexual harassment in the workplace and safe sex. 

For students seeking additional support, campus health services also plays a key role in the healing process, focusing on a trauma-informed approach for all patients. Shelli Larkin, DNP, director of Student Health Services, explained that the clinic provides various sexual assault services, including medical triage, counseling referrals to Student Counseling & Psychological Services and the Sexual Assault Response Center, acute and follow-up STI testing, and prescribing prophylaxis medications.     

“We know that sexual assault happens, and we know it happens across all genders, all classes, and we want to make sure that our students, on every campus we have, realize that they have access to services,” Larkin said. 

One community partner present at the tabling event was the Sexual Assault Response Center, a non-profit sexual assault center that provides comprehensive support, healing and advocacy for survivors of sexual assault. Kaysha Adamo, community engagement coordinator with SARC, said that conversation around sexual assault and prevention can expand past being an awareness month by encouraging open conversations and preventing the bystander effect.

Practicing affirmative consent, often referred to as yes means yes, requires conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in a specific sexual activity.

“Consent is not the absence of ‘no,’ but the presence of ‘yes,’” Adamo said. “Having autonomy over yourself and your body is essential. Even small moments can create a sense of lost control. It’s important to ensure that consent is clearly and continuously given, even within a relationship, rather than assumed without being expressed.” 

Adamo stressed that SARC aims to break down the barriers and stigma behind seeking help in order to begin the healing journey.  

Anyone in need of these services can call the Student Health Clinic directly at 706-721-3448 or the SARC 24/7 hotline at 706-724-5200. 

The Office of Student Wellbeing also partnered with the Title IX Office and SARC to display plastic T-shirts representing patients who experienced sexual violence. Displayed on the Summerville and Health Sciences Campuses, the red shirts are for adults over the age of 18 while the blue shirts are for children under the age of 18.  

“Sexual assault is a topic that is often shied away from,” Davis said. “By raising awareness throughout the month, we can look to empower students to take action to prevent sexual misconduct from happening and to uplift survivors of sexual assault. Having knowledge on how to foster healthy relationships is not only helpful for ourselves but equips us to be upstanders if we see a questionable situation taking place for someone else.” 

The Office of Student Wellbeing will also host Wellness Wednesday: Pathways to Prevention on April 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Health Sciences Patio, an interactive event that continues the conversation around awareness, education and self-care during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.