Society & Culture

UGA to host Open Dialogue on Sexual Assault

Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia will host an Open Dialogue on Sexual Assault on Oct. 29 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 248 of the Miller Learning Center.

UGA’s Equal Opportunity Office invites the entire university community to ask questions, share information and engage in dialogue about sexual assault issues in general and about UGA’s efforts to prevent sexual assault and address its effect within the UGA community.

Representatives from UGA’s Equal Opportunity Office, the UGA Health Center, the UGA Police Department, the Office of the Dean of Students, University Housing and others will be available to answer questions.

“Students, faculty and staff can come and ask whatever questions they have,” said Janyce Dawkins, director of the Equal Opportunity Office. “They can ask about what procedures we have for reporting and investigations, about prevention, about confidentiality, about the resources we have on campus, or about potential scenarios. But it’s truly an open forum with no pre-set agenda.”

Based on the response from this discussion, future events on more targeted topics may be held. The goal is to raise university awareness for area of concern.

“We want to know what the community is concerned about, what we can do better and things we should change,” she said. “Sexual assault is an important topic that affects every part of campus and we want everyone to have a voice.”

The event is part of the nationwide “It’s On Us” campaign, a movement aimed at changing the way the public thinks about sexual assault, raising awareness that sexual assault is a societal problem, supporting survivors, and recognizing opportunities to intervene and prevent sexual assault.