Battlefords and Area Sexual Assault Centre (BASAC) representatives with North Battleford Mayor Ryan Bater, right, gather outside city hall for a flag- raising ceremony Monday for Sexual Assault Awareness Week. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Raising awareness

N.B. proclaims Sexual Assault Awareness Week with flag-raising ceremony

May 13, 2019 | 12:14 PM

Sexual Assault Awareness Week was officially proclaimed in North Battleford with a flag raising ceremony outside city hall Monday morning.

Mayor Ryan Bater and the Battlefords and Area Sexual Assault Centre (BASAC) staff and board members joined to raise the commemorative flag to officially launch the week.

The theme for the week this year is: ‘Working together: Your voice, your story, and your action.’

“Our goal is to make sexual violence a topic of conversation – engaging public dialogue on an issue many people feel uncomfortable discussing,” Battlefords and Area Sexual Assault Centre (BASAC) chair of the board of directors Heather O’Neill said.

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Advocates aim to “break the silence” about the issue by raising awareness, increasing education and offering support, in an effort to help prevent sexual violence.

For people who need help, the BASAC offers individual counselling and supports victims attending hospital visits as well as other related appointments to access services.

The organization also offers education on the subject of sexual assault awareness.

“We do a lot of programming as well in the schools, right from elementary schools up to the high schools,” O’Neill said.

She said only a small number of those impacted by sexual assault actually do seek help unfortunately, so organizers also hope by raising awareness more people will feel comfortable to access the services that are available for victims in the community.

“There is a very low percentage of people who do come forward when they are sexually assaulted, so we definitely do like to see people feeling more comfortable (to look for support), and hope they know we are available for them,” she said.

Red Shoes Walk

To raise awareness about the week, the BASAC are once again holding the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event, which will take place Tuesday at 6 p.m. leaving from The Blend Restaurant and Bar in North Battleford. The event is also a fundraiser to support the BASAC’s programming and counselling services. Six teams of four to six people in each group are registered to take part.

“Registration is closed now, but you are more than welcome to come down and cheer everybody on,” O’Neill said. “It’s a great way to cheer on the guys out there walking for the women in their lives.”

The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event is an international men’s march against rape, sexual assault and gender-based violence.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW