For Sexual Assault Awareness month in April, State High’s Purple Project is hosting a fundraiser in collaboration with Centre Safe, a nonprofit that provides services for those who have been sexually violated. The project is educating students and raising awareness in our school community.
The Purple Project is a State High organization committed to educating and raising awareness about sexual violence.
Junior Sarah Ocampo is the executive director of the Purple Project, said, “The main goal of our organization is to bring awareness, education, and support to those sexually violated. [Also educating] people on how to recognize sexual violence and find a way to decrease the effects of it or even the actions themselves.”
Ocampo described the Purple Project’s plans. “We are collaborating with Centre Safe to first do a fundraiser. We’re collecting funds to help allocate resources to that organization. The fundraiser helps keep the organization afloat [and] gives resources to the people who need it,” Ocampo said.
“A donation drive, which is happening on the week of the 21st, is where we are collecting items for Centre Safe to allocate to safe havens, which act as a safe place for people who are running from abuse to stay at,” Ocampo said. “We are working with Go With The Flow on that one. They’re helping us collect specifically period products, but the Purple Project is collecting a bunch of other items.”
That same week, “Centre Safe is coming in to also talk to students in the hub,” Ocampo said.
Along with this, the Purple Project has set up a table during lunches. Junior Hayli Billett described their purpose. “At this table, we are helping [victims] of sexual violence, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse. If anybody needs help but they don’t want to contact the authorities, they can come to us and we can help out as much as we can.”
Fairfax County’s Department of Family Services reported: “Nearly 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men will be the victim of sexual violence at some point in their lifetime.”
“The duty of ending sexual violence is a community one, which is why it is important to raise awareness and give community members the necessary tools to have these conversations with their families and with each other,” the Department stated.
The Purple Project has also placed posters with purple handprints to show students’ support and to raise awareness.
“One of the things that we are emphasizing is student engagement. At this point, we’re finding ways to get people more comfortable talking about sexual violence, because it’s something that some people are like, ‘Oh we don’t need to talk about it to students.’ But from what I’ve seen, failing to recognize it, the effects of it, the impact that it has on students, in an educational setting is what further damages people’s educational safe haven,” Ocampo said.
Sexual assault awareness empowers survivors, encourages prevention, and fosters safer communities.
“It’s important for State High because I feel like we need to learn about these issues that are going on instead of not thinking about it because you never know, there could be so many kids from State High who have gone through this,” Billett said.
“People are coming to school to learn and any disruption to that is a matter of concern not only for students but administration and teachers,” Ocampo said. “Having teachers and faculty and people to emphasize that you’re safe here and you’re going to be supported is super important.”
