Equity & Inclusion Office Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) – April 2025

Posted on April 1, 2025

Content warning: Contains reference to sexual violence.

April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), a time dedicated to increasing awareness about gender-based and sexual violence, supporting survivors, and reinforcing our collective responsibility in preventing sexual assault within our community and beyond. The Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office in the Equity & Inclusion Office serves all McMaster community members, including students, staff, and faculty. We are in solidarity with communities across Canada and around the world in recognizing the far-reaching impacts of gender-based and sexual violence. We reaffirm our unwavering support for survivors and renew our commitment to prevention, education, and ongoing efforts to foster safer, more equitable spaces for all.

The 2025 SAAM theme, “Together We Act, United We Change,”^[1] reminds us that creating safer, more respectful communities requires collaboration. Change is only possible when we act in partnership, across roles, disciplines, and identities, toward a shared vision of safety, equity, and care.

SAAM has its roots in the courageous, grassroots activism of survivors, led by Black women, and supported by Indigenous and other racialized women, who, beginning in the 1970s, challenged societal silence and systemic inaction around gender-based sexual violence. Their leadership was foundational to the establishment of community-based rape crisis centres, survivor-led advocacy, and early organizing efforts such as “Take Back the Night” marches.^[2] These movements not only offered support and visibility to those affected by gender-based and sexual violence but also developed intersectional feminist frameworks that exposed how gender-based and sexual violence are inseparable from broader systems of oppression, including racism, colonialism, ableism, and misogyny. In 2001, April was officially recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Since then, SAAM has evolved into a global movement emphasizing not only awareness but also prevention, healing, and accountability. This history continues to inform McMaster’s commitment to equity-informed, person-centred and trauma-informed approaches to addressing gender-based and sexual violence in all its forms.

At McMaster, we recognize that gender-based and sexual violence is a pervasive and urgent issue, one that profoundly affects post-secondary communities across the country, including our own. National research consistently shows that women, 2SLGBTQIA+ students, Indigenous students, and students with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by gender-based and sexual violence. Racialized and Indigenous women face distinct and compounded risks, as the impacts of gender-based and sexual violence intersect with racism, colonialism, and other systemic forms of oppression.^[3] These overlapping inequities can also create significant barriers to disclosure and support that staff and faculty experience.

Our institutional commitment is also shaped by key provincial legislative frameworks, notably Ontario’s Bill 132 (Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act, 2016) and Bill 26 (Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, 2022). These laws mandate that post-secondary institutions establish robust sexual violence policies, transparent reporting mechanisms, and comprehensive support systems for survivors, while also enhancing accountability. This legislative landscape underscores the systemic approach required to address gender-based and sexual violence effectively within our educational institutions.

Tragically, the gender-based attack in a University of Waterloo classroom in 2023, where a professor and students were violently targeted during a gender studies lecture, serves as a stark example of the very real violence that can occur on university campuses. This incident underscores the persistence of misogyny and the reality of gender-based violence, even in spaces dedicated to learning and inclusion.^[4] It is a painful reminder that these issues are not abstract but present a tangible threat. We honour the resilience of those affected by that event and recognize the fear and grief it evoked across campuses. This act of violence is not an isolated incident; it reflects broader societal patterns and reinforces the urgent need for institutions like McMaster to remain actively engaged in prevention, education, and meaningful support.

As part of SAAM 2025, we encourage all members of our community to:

Act together by participating in training hosted by the Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Office (SVPRO). These programs focus on topics such as consent, responding to disclosures, digital safety, and bystander intervention. Notably, the It Takes All of Us online learning module is available to all students, staff, and faculty, aiming to increase awareness of gender-based and sexual violence.
Learn about support resources available to survivors and their supporters, both on and off campus. McMaster offers trauma-informed, confidential services through SVPRO, including drop-in support sessions during the fall and winter terms on Tuesdays from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at University Hall (UH) room 107. Additional support is available through the Student Wellness Centre and the Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP). SVPRO also provides access to a variety of support resources, consultations, support, and education in-person, by phone, or by video call.
Create safer environments, online and in person, by utilizing the SVPRO Learning Hub. It offers resources focused on consent and healthy relationships, which are foundational for building respectful interactions across all contexts.
Take visible action by joining campaigns such as Wear Teal Day, International Day of Pink and Denim Day or attending art exhibits and survivor-led initiatives, and using your voice to challenge harmful attitudes and behaviours.
Reflect on intersectionality, acknowledging how experiences of gender based and sexual violence intersect with racism, ableism, colonialism, and other forms of systemic oppression. McMaster’s Inclusion and Anti-Racism Education Program and AccessMac specialize in providing education and support regarding race, ableism, equity and inclusion, offering workshops and resources to deepen understanding of these critical intersections. ?

We continue to review our policies, invest in prevention, and foster inclusive systems of care. As the 2025 theme reminds us: Together, we act. United, we change.

Let this month be a catalyst—not just for awareness, but for action.

Patricia Suleiman (she/her), Senior Director, Human Rights & Accessibility, Equity & Inclusion Office

[1] SAAM 2025

[2] History of SAAM | National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)

[3] Students’ experiences of unwanted sexualized behaviours and sexual assault at postsecondary schools in the Canadian provinces, 2019

[4] University of Waterloo stabber will spend another seven years behind bars, cleared on terrorism charge

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