
January is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), recognized every year to raise awareness about sexual violence and to empower SFU and FIC students, faculty, and staff to engage with this complex topic in meaningful ways. Learn more about the activities and resources from SFU's Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office (SVSPO).
In honour of this year's theme, Cultivating a Community of Care, we're sharing books, films, and resources that centre the experiences of Black People, Indigenous People, People of Colour, migrants and refugees, and 2SLGBTQIA+ and gender non-conforming people. Thank you to Massy Books for their inspiring reading list Colour of Violence: Gender, Race and Anti-Violence Services.
The purpose of this list is to suggest ways to deepen one’s understanding of the forms, prevalence, and impacts of sexual violence and to offer support resources to people who have experienced sexual violence. The books and films in this list all address sexual violence and may include explicit accounts of sexual violence and trauma. This content is challenging and may bring up difficult feelings. We invite you to engage with these texts and films in ways that support your own learning and well-being.
The SVSPO offers free, confidential personal support for SFU and FIC students, faculty or staff who have been impacted by sexual violence. We invite you to connect with an SVSPO case manager if you require support.
Book of the Week recommendations
Each week in January, we'll feature a SAAM Book of the Week.
Week 1: I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom
Week 2: They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up by Eternity Martis
Week 3: The Will to Change by bell hooks
Read online
Here are just some of the ebooks available to read online.
Borrow or request a print book
Browse or check out these books from our collections.
Watch a film
Picture a Scientist (2021, streaming online through Films on Demand)
"Women make up less than a quarter of STEM professionals in the United States, and numbers are even lower for women of color. But a growing group of researchers is exposing longstanding discrimination and making science more inclusive."
Explore the collection
Violence against women and children research guide (SFU Library)
Our research guide includes extensive resources and research strategies for this topic.