April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month and students at Northern Arizona wore black to make a statement on Thursday.
The "How We Dress Does Not Mean Yes" campaign encouraged students to wear black as a way to tear down misconceptions about sexual assault victims.
"This event really came out of some of the myths that exist in our culture that include victim blaming," said Melissa Griffin, health promotion manager at NAU. "Things like saying, "Well did you see how she was dressed? She deserved what she got.""
According to Griffin, one in five college females and one in 16 college males will experience sexual assault with alcohol as a primary factor in the incidents.
"Often times (men) are very unlikely to report sexual assault due to stigmas," Griffin said. "And then our LGBTQ students are also at higher risk for sexual assault, as well."
A student health survey conducted at NAU last month revealed seven percent of students had been sexually touched without consent and two and half percent experienced unwanted sexual penetration.
Griffin said national studies report only about 5 percent of sexual assaults are officially reported, sometimes due to confusion, guilt or victim blaming.
"It's important to talk about sexual assaults on campuses because I don't think people are very comfortable to do so," said Amanda Barnes, NAU student. "It's kind of a bad taboo to talk about sexual assault and I feel by making it more of a presence on campus we will be able to make people feel more comfortable to talk about what's happened to them."
This event was one of several planned throughout the week to educate and encourage discussion about sexual assault on college campuses.
