Holy Cross to Host Sexual Assault Awareness Week

WORCESTER, Mass. – Sexual Assault Awareness Week will take place March 30-April 3 at the College of the Holy Cross. The week includes various events intended to raise awareness about sexual assault and activism toward eliminating sexual assault on campus. This year’s keynote speaker, Nicole Braddock Bromley, will present a lecture titled “Our Little Secret” on Thursday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Seelos Theater. The series of events, sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA), is free and open to the public.

Bromley founded and directs OneVOICE enterprises, and she is a national spokesperson on the issue of sexual abuse. She authored Hush: Moving from Silence to Healing after Childhood Sexual Abuse. A new book, Breathe, is planned for release in May. She frequently appears on television and radio and was recently an expert guest on The Montel Williams Show.

Other events include a self-defense demonstration by College public safety officers, a sexual assault scenario discussion led by the Relationship Peer Educators, and the annual Take Back the Night event that is cosponsored by Women’s Forum.

During the week, there will be a cell phone collection in the Hogan Campus Center for the Daybreak program of the YWCA of Central Massachusetts. Daybreak Resources is the most comprehensive program in the area designed to meet the needs of women and children whose lives are affected by interpersonal violence. The program will accept used cell phones to redistribute them for emergency use to victims of domestic abuse. The donated phones do not need to be working; any non-functioning phones will be given to Shelter Alliance, an organization that will support Daybreak in return for the phones. Chargers for the cell phones will also be accepted.