Lander’s Denim Day Raises Awareness of Sexual Assault, Supports Survivors

The observance of April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month was highlighted among Lander University students as part of Denim Day.

Campus and community organizations gathered on the University’s plaza to showcase area resources available to support survivors and to bring attention to the international problem of sexual assault.

Lander students also had the opportunity to learn self-defense skills, including the palm heel strike, which is used to knock a perpetrator off balance. The move gives a victim of assault a chance to flee, said Jimmy Granate, a corporal with the Lander University Police Department.

“This is a simple, yet effective way to respond, and it lets someone get away as quickly as possible,” he said.

Messages of support, including “you are strong” and “you are amazing,” were written on jeans by students in a display of support for survivors.

Denim Day will be observed nationally on April 30. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of all women and about one in three men have experienced sexual violence involving contact during their lifetimes.