This section is dedicated for resources to advance prevention efforts in Minnesota.  We are continuously in the process of developing new resources.  If you have additional needs or a specific request, please contact Lindsay at lindsay@mncasa.org.

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The Minnesota Caucus will be held on Tuesday, February 7. You can present a resolution at a caucus for consideration. If a resolution is approved by the caucus it will be submitted for inclusion on the party's platform. This is an excellent way to raise awareness about an issue. MNCASA has developed a caucus resolution on sexual violence prevention (with a focus on child sexual abuse/exploitation) and our Public Affairs Consultant Bob Tracy will lead you through the resolution and explain how you can promote its inclusion at your local caucus meeting. This webinar will be held three times before the caucus so you will have several opportunities to learn how to engage with your community on sexual violence prevention through the resolution process.

• January 30, 12 noon webinar registration, click here.  
• February 3, 3 p.m. webinar registration, click here.
• February 6, 12 noon webinar registration, click here.

 

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SAAM 2012

A special thanks to the 2012 SAAM Planning Committee: Amy @ Alexendra House, Becki @ Someplace Safe, Cindy @ 360 Communities, Erin @ Someplace Safe, Kasey @ Safe Avenues, Sara @ Hope Center, and Sonia @ White Earth DOVE Program!

If you would like to learn more about planning, events, or tools in development leading up to SAAM--please watch the 40 min webinar by clicking here.


2012 SAAM Theme: Demand the Change: End Sexual Violence in Minnesota
The 2012 SAAM Image is now available!  Due to technical difficulties, it will not download onto this web page.  Please email Lindsay for the image or if you would like a variation of the image to represent your local community!

Promoting Your Event
If you would like to have your event displayed on the MNCASA website, please email Lindsay by clicking here.


Nationally Recognized SAAM Events

• 2012 SAAM Day of Action will be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2012.  This nationally recognized day provides an opportunity for prevention advocates to engage with their communities.  More information can be found here.
• Denim Day in LA & USA will be held on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. Every year since 1999 Peace Over Violence has organized Denim Day in LA & USA It is a rape prevention education campaign, where we ask community members, elected officials, businesses and students to make a social statement with their fashion statement and on this day wear jeans as a visible means of protest against misconceptions that surround sexual assault.  More information about Denim Day can be found here.
• National Crime Victim Rights Week will be observed April 22-28, 2012. The theme for NCVRW 2012 is "Extending the Vision: Reaching Every Victim" and the theme colors are blue and black.  More information about NCVRW can be found here.

 

SAAM 2011 Information  (Once the proposed proclamation for 2012 is finalized, you will find it here.)

Sample Proclamation
Letter to Governor Dayton
Signed Proclamation from Governor Dayton
 

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SAAM Event Ideas


Clothesline Project
The Clothesline Project originated in October 1990, with 31 shirts displayed on a village green in Hyannis, MA, as part of an annual "Take Back the Night" March and Rally. Throughout the day, women came forward to create shirts and the line kept growing.

Everything changed for the Clothesline Project after a small blurb appeared in Off Our Backs magazine and was picked up by Ms. Magazine. In the following years, the Ryka Rose Foundation and Carol Cone's advertising agency took an interest in the work and helped create a national push with small pieces appearing in USA Weekend magazine, Shape magazine, and others. This outreach changed the Clothesline Project from a single, local, grassroots effort into an intense national campaign.

The Clothesline Project honors female victim/survivors of intimate violence. Any woman, who has experienced an act of violence at any time in her life, may design a shirt. Victims’ families and friends are also invited to participate.

Each woman is given a new voice to expose an often horrific and unspeakable experience that has altered the course of her life through the process of designing a shirt. Participating in this project provides a powerful step towards helping a survivor break through the silence that has surrounded her experience. More information on the Clothesline Project is available at: http://www.clotheslineproject.org/



Denim Day
In 1992, an 18-year-old in Italy was picked up by her driving instructor to begin a driving lesson. Soon after, she was raped on the side of the road by the instructor. She pressed charges and won her case. The instructor appealed the case which went to the Italian High Court.  In 1999, the Court overturned the conviction with a member of the High Court declaring that, since the victim wore very tight jeans, the instructor could not have removed them himself, therefore the victim must have been a willing participant.

Women of the Italian Legislature protested the decision by wearing jeans. As news of the decision spread, so did the protest. In April 1999, the State of California established the first Denim Day in the United States.  On April 28, 2011 universities, colleges, industries, business, and organizations will participate in Denim Day events. More information on the campaign or how to join the campaign is available at: http://denimdayusa.org/



Pinwheels for PREVENTION
Created by Prevent Child Abuse America, this effort has been created to effect measurable change in the public's beliefs and behaviors regarding the prevention of child abuse and neglect. This goes beyond making Americans aware of our issue to motivating them to take an active role in prevention and in their community.

The pinwheel represents PCA America's efforts to change the way our nation thinks about prevention, focusing on community activities and public policies that prioritize prevention right from the start to make sure child abuse and neglect never occur.  For more information: http://www.pinwheelsforprevention.org/index.php



Take Back the Night
Take Back the Night’s roots may lay in 1877, when women protested the fear and violence they experienced in the night-time streets of London, England. Others believe that the first rally occurred in 1976, when women attending the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women lit candles and took to the moonlit streets of Belgium to denounce the continuation of violence against women.

Take Back the Night made its way to the United States 1978, when protesters in San Francisco invoked the slogan following an anti-pornography conference. On that night, those who had been adversely affected by pornography openly shared their stories with those who had gathered. Most present-day rallies offer survivors of violence an opportunity to give voice to their experiences and publicly affirm their transition from victim to survivor.

Common components of Take Back the Night rallies include candlelight vigils, empowerment marches, and survivor testimonials. The goals and specific features of a Take Back the Night rally are just as varied as its vast array of supporters. Take Back the Night events inspire both women and men to confront violence in a wide range of forms, including rape, sexual violence, domestic violence, violence against children, and violence against women. The unifying theme throughout these diverse topics is the assertion that all human beings have the right to be free from violence, the right to be heard, and the right to reclaim those rights if they are violated.

Last year, Take Back the Night Foundation hosted an event called 10 Points of Light. Ten locations throughout the United States will light vigil candles simultaneously at the same time to unite in support of survivors of sexual violence to illuminate the darkness of abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault. For more information on this event in 2011 or on Take Back the Night, please visit: www.takebackthenight.org



Walk a Mile in Her Shoes
Frank Baird first proposed Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®: The International Men's March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence to Valley Trauma Center in 2001.

Their Mission (found online):
Co-creating a United Gender Movement, men will be a part of the solution to ending sexualized violence.
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® Events are political and performance art with public, personal and existential messages. At a Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® Event there is no distinction between performer and audience. Our mission is to create a unique and powerful public experience that educates individuals and communities about the causes of sexualized violence, provides them with prevention and remediation strategies and empowers them to further develop and implement these knowledges and skills interpersonally and politically.
For more information, please visit: www.walkamileinhershoes.org.

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Handouts