Building Connected Communities

Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2024

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). This year, NJCASA is participating in the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s (NSVRC) SAAM campaign, “Drawing Connections: Prevention Demands Equity.” The campaign calls on all individuals, communities, organizations, and institutions to change ourselves and the systems surrounding us to build racial equity and respect.

Social Media Campaign

Join us on social media this April! Throughout the month, we’ll be sharing information about our work and resources available across the state, as well as hosting some fun giveaways!

Check out our schedule:

  • Week 1: Introducing NJCASA
  • Week 2: Resources in NJ
  • Week 3: Transformative Justice
  • Week 4: SAAM & Beyond

DATES TO KEEP IN MIND

April 2nd: SAAM Day of Action
SAAM Day of Action is a special day to show your support for survivors of sexual violence by wearing teal. Tag us on Instagram in a photo of you wearing teal, and we’ll repost it to our story!

April 24th: Denim Day
Wear denim to show your support for survivors of sexual violence! Tag us on Instagram in a photo of you wearing denim, and we’ll repost it to our story!

Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our mailing list to stay up to date!

Donate

Looking for another way to get involved this SAAM and support survivors of sexual violence? Make a donation to NJCASA today! All funds will go directly toward supporting the CDC’s estimated 2.7 million survivors of contact sexual violence in our home state. A donation of any amount will make a difference!

Donate HERE!

Events

Join the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA) on May 8–9, 2024, for our free, virtual conference, Creating Transformative Systems!

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE!

Local sexual violence programs across New Jersey are hosting both in-person and virtual events and activities throughout Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

ATLANTIC COUNTY

April 8 Sexual Assault Panel Discussion
Join Avanzar on April 8th, from 4-6pm at Stockton University for their panel discussion. The panel discussion will help break the silence surrounding sexual assault on campus and in the local community.

April 12 | Empower & Paint
Join Avanzar on April 12th, at 6pm, located at 301 Woodland Ave, Pleasantville, NJ 08232 to empower survivors and paint pictures of our healing journey. Please register with JuWana McNear at 609-833-0448.

April 19 Community Resource Fair
Join Avanzar on April 19th, from 2:30p-5pm at 927 N. Main St. Bldg. D, Pleasantville, NJ 08232 for their resource fair. The Resource Fair is to provide the community with other resources to improve and create a safer community. To participate in the event please complete the form here. *Rain Date: April 20th.

April 24 Denim Day Event
Join Avanzar on April 24th, from 4-5pm at All Wars Memorial Building (1510 Adriactic Ave, Atlantic City, NJ 08401) to learn about the significance of Denim Day and about consent while designing jeans to display on future clothesline projects.

April 26 Cupcakes & Conversations
Join Avanzar on April 25th, from 6-7:30pm, at 301 Woodland Ave, Pleasantville, NJ 08232 for candid conversations about consent and boundaries with parents and students.

BERGEN COUNTY

April 25 Clothesline Project
Join HealingSPACE on April 25th, from 10am-3pm on The Green in Hackensack, NJ for their 30th annual Clothesline Project. *Rain Date: May 2nd.

BURLINGTON COUNTY

April 19 Painting with a Purpose: Self-Care and Healing
Join Contact of Burlington on April 19th, from 6-8pm at 127 Ark Road, #18, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054 for a paint and sip event, for ages 13 and up! Talented artist will guide you step by step to create your masterpiece. All proceeds will support Contact of Burlington County. To register, visit https://www.paintingwithatwist.com/studio/mt-laurel/event/3647828/ 

CAMDEN COUNTY

April 13 Zumba for SAAM
Join SERV on April 13th, from 11am-1pm at Cooper River Park, Camden, NJ for their Zumba for SAAM event.

April 22 | Facebook Live
Join SERV on April 22nd for their Facebook Live event. More details forthcoming.

April 23 Sexual Violence Resource Fair
Join SERV on April 23rd, from 4-6pm at Roosevelt Plaza (520 Market Street, Camden, NJ) for their Sexual Violence Resource Fair.

April 26 Sexual Violence Awareness Walk
Join The Hispanic Family Center of Southern NJ on April 26th, from 11am-3pm, at Cooper River Park Piazza (3207 Bishops View Circle, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002) for their first Sexual Violence Awareness Walk.

CAPE MAY COUNTY

April 21 Candlelight Vigil
Join C.A.R.A on April 21st, at 1pm, located on 8 West Main St., Whitesboro, NJ 08252 for their Candlelight Vigil.

Displayed Throughout April | The Clothesline Tee-Shirt Project
The clothesline project will be displayed at Atlantic Cape Community College on Mondays through Fridays for the entire month of April.

ESSEX COUNTY

April 2 Denim Day
SAVE of Essex is partnering with Essex County College to host a community Denim Day with the students and faculty of the college on April 2nd, from 10am-2pm. We are inviting the Essex County College community to join us to decorate their t-shirts and denim, and learn more about SAAM. The decorated clothing will be hung up in the college throughout the month of April.

April 3 | Sexual Assault Awareness Month Resource Fair
Join SAVE of Essex on April 3rd, from 2-4pm for a SAAM-focused resource fair for students and faculty of the NJIT community. We will be sharing resources, information, and SAAM-swag.

April 8 | Clothesline Project
SAVE of Essex is partnering with Caldwell University to create a Clothesline Project on April 8th, from 11am-2pm, which will include tabling and resources available for the students and faculty on campus. We will help the community decorate their clothing and provide education on sexual violence, SAAM, and prevention.

April 13 Kite Flight
Join SAVE of Essex on April 13th, from 10am-4pm at Elmwood Park, NJ for a kite flying event to raise awareness on abuse prevention for sexual assault and child abuse awareness month.

GLOUCESTER COUNTY

April 2 | Take Back The Night
Join SERV – Gloucester County on April 2nd, from 5-7pm at Rowan University (201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, NJ 08028) for their Take Back The Night event.

April 16 | SAAM Karaoke Night
Join SERV – Gloucester County on April 16th, from 4-6pm at Mosaic Family Success Center, Glassboro, NJ for a community event dedicated to bringing awareness, offering resources, and having fun in honor of SAAM.

April 24 | SAAM Instagram LIVE! Q&A Event
Join SERV on their Instagram page at 6pm on April 24th for their Instagram live. SERV advocates and Rowan University Counselors will host a town hall on Instagram with Rowan student and the community to discuss questions and concerns surrounding SV that people may have.

April 27 | SAAM Zumba-thon
Join SERV – Gloucester County on April 27th, from 10am-1pm at Pitman United Methodist Church, Pitman, NJ for their SAAM Zumba-thon. Entry is $5.

HUDSON COUNTY

April 19 | Candlelight Vigil
Join Hudson SPEAKS Against Sexual Violence on April 19, from 6:30pm-8:30pm at Jersey City Public Library (Miller Branch) for a Candlelight Vigil to honor survivors and those lost to sexual violence.

April 28 | Hudson SPEAKS March Against Sexual Violence
Join Hudson SPEAKS Against Sexual Violence on April 28th at 1pm in Jersey City Lincoln Park for a march against sexual violence.

HUNTERDON COUNTY

April 19 Survivors’ Poetry Slam
Join SAFE in Hunterdon on April 19th, from 6-8pm at 26 Stangl Rd, Flemington, NJ 08822 for a night of empowerment and resiliency in support of survivors of sexual violence.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

April 18 | Take Back the Night
Join Rutgers VPVA New Brunswick for Take Back the Night at Rutgers New Brunswick (Douglass to College Ave Campuses) from 6-9pm on April 18th. Take Back The Night is a national movement with long standing roots at Rutgers. Campus and community members march and protest from Douglass Campus to College Ave with remarks, performances, and stories shared by survivors.

April 19 | Middlesex County Resource Fair
Manavi will be one of the exhibitors at Middlesex County Resource Fair on April 19th. They will be introducing their services and conducting a discussion on SAAM, and will be available to answer questions. This is to help raise awareness about sexual violence in the community.

MONMOUTH COUNTY

April 12 | Healing Through Our Trauma \ Sanado el trauma 
Join CARC on April 12th at 2pm, located at 85 South St, Freehold, NJ 07728 for a series of workshop for their clients, where they will have the opportunity to learn about abuse, prevention, and how to heal from trauma. To register call: 732-462-2666.

April 13 | “What Were You Wearing” Survivor Exhibit
180 Turning Lives Around will be hosting the exhibit on April 13th, from 2pm-7pm at 99 Monmouth St. Red Bank, NJ 07701. This exhibit will feature outfits based on submissions from real sexual assault survivors on what they were wearing at the time of the incident. The exhibit aims to dissolve the stigma that what someone was wearing caused their sexual assault. Registration not required. Exhibit is a self-paced walkthrough, you can come as short or as long as you’d like within the visiting hours!

April 20 | “Telling Our Stories” Sexual Assault Awareness Event
Hosted by Asbury Park Mayor’s Wellness Committee & Mercy Center on April 20th, from 11am-2pm at Springwood Avenue Park, Asbury Park, NJ 07712. This event brings light to the issue of sexual assault and honor those who have been impacted by sexual violence.

April 26 | SAFE: Sexual Assault Facilitation & Education Facilitacion y educacion sobre la agresion sexual SAFE
Join CARC on April 26th at 12pm, located at 913 Sewall Ave, Asbury Park, NJ 07712 for a series of workshop for their clients, where they will have the opportunity to learn about abuse, prevention, and how to heal from trauma. To register call: 732-774-3282.

MORRIS COUNTY

April 17 | Planting Seeds for Sexual Violence Prevention
Join Morris County Sexual Assault Center as they come together for Sexual Assault Awareness Month on April 17th, from 4-7pm at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum (353 East Hanover Ave, Morristown, NJ). Grow your knowledge about the impact of sexual violence, learn about resources, and create change in your community. Food trucks, music, indoor planting station, speakers, community resources.

OCEAN COUNTY

Available Starting April 1 | What Were You Wearing? Virtual Exhibit
The purpose of this virtual exhibit is to honor all survivors of sexual violence and to further spread awareness during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The goal is to continue breaking down the stigmas and biases that survivors so commonly experience by answering a question that survivors are asked all too frequently.

April 19 | Empower, Educate, Engage: Workshop on Sexual Violence & Abuse Empoderar, Educarm Participar: Taller sobre violencia y abuso sexaual
Join CARC on April 19th at 3pm, located at 215 Madison Ave, Lakewood, NJ 08701 for a series of workshop for their clients, where they will have the opportunity to learn about abuse, prevention, and how to heal from trauma. To register call: 732-961-3760.

PASSAIC COUNTY

April 13 | Second Annual Black Maternal Health Awareness Joyful Walk
Wafa House will be participating in the 2nd Annual Black Maternal Health Awareness Joyful Walk on April 13th, from 8:45am-12:30pm. The event will be at Eastside Park, Paterson, NJ 07505.

April 20 | Annual Sexual Violence Awareness Walk/Run
Join Passaic County Domestic Sexual Violence Center on April 20th, from 10-2pm at Garret Mountain Reservation Boathouse (8 Mountain Ave, Woodland Park, NJ 07424). All proceeds will support the nonprofit efforts to provide FREE services, safe spaces, education, and valuable resources to those impacted by sexual violence. *Rain Date: April 27th.

SOMERSET COUNTY

April 9 | Denim Day Event
Safe+Sound Somerset is partnering with Planned Parenthood, Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, the Babs Siperstein Proud Center, and Raritan Valley Community College to host a Denim Day Event tabletop and panel discussion about consent on April 9th, from 1-3pm at Raritan Valley Community College.

April 9 | Mix and Mingle: The Secrets to Secure and Healthy Relationships
Safe+Sound Somerset will be sharing information about consent and non-violence in a panel discussion hosted by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset on April 9th, from 5-7:30pm. Join for an exciting evening of mixers as two experts share secrets for healthy, safe, and secure relationships. Learn innovative, easy-to-apply techniques to identify positive behaviors and establish a framework for lasting relationships.  Participants will enjoy a light dinner and receive a copy of Dr. Becker-Phelps’ latest book.  A book signing will follow. To register, visit https://www.rwjbh.org/~/events/event/?event=39667.

April 20 | Delta Gems Conference
Safe+Sound Somerset is partnering with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, Central New Jersey Chapter to present a workshop at their annual Delta Gems Conference. The Delta Gems is a program that seeks to capture the dreams of young ladies ages 14-18. The collaborative workshop, utilizing Safe+Sound Somerset’s Choices, Boundaries, and Consent Framework, will focus on developing tools to create personal interactions that promote freedom, respect, and non-violence.

Available on April 30 | SPEAK Your PEACE Art Contest and Exhibit
Safe+Sound Somerset is planning an exhibit launch in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month on April 30th.

SUSSEX COUNTY

April 16 | Clothesline Project
Join DASI, Ginnie’s House, DCPP, and Benny’s Bodega on April 10th, from 11am-2pm at Newton Square, Newton, NJ for their 26th annual Clothesline Project.

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST!

Get the latest update about our SAAM campaign by joining our mailing list!