Support Masculinities for Humanity during Sexual Assault Awareness Month

January is Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Masculinities for Humanity

 

It requires courage and commitment to challenge and change entrenched attitudes, assumptions, and systems. 

SAAM is an invitation to SFU and FIC students, faculty, and staff to cultivate a culture of mutual respect and care, which extends out into our wider communities.

SFU's Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office

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 support of this year's theme Masculinities for Humanity, we recognize that although women, girls*, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people are disproportionately impacted by sexual violence, any conversations or actions to end sexual violence must include people of all gender identities, including men and boys*, as active participants working towards social change. We are inviting the SFU and FIC community to ignite conversations around the concept of masculinities that open space for men and boys to practice emotional vulnerability, community care, and accountability.

*Note: We recognize each person’s right to determine and name their own gender identity. Our use of “men and boys” and “women and girls” includes cisgender and transgender people. 

Browse the list of book recommendations for survivors curated by the SVSPO Case Managers.

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.

Visit our in-person displays

Drop by our Sexual Assault Awareness Month display at all three SFU libraries to explore books, films, and more!

 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

White Scripts and Black Supermen (2012, streaming online through Films on Demand) 
"A valuable and colorful examination of 40 years of changing representations of black masculinity in a significant area of popular culture: comic books. This genre's reach and impact has extended into other forms of cultural production such as movies and animated TV series."

Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity (2002, DVD) 
"Looks systematically at the relationship between the images of popular culture and the social construction of masculine identities in the U.S. at the end of the 20th century. Jackson Katz argues that there is a crisis in masculinity and that some of the guises offered to men as a solution (e.g., rugged individualism, violence) come loaded with attendant dangers to women, as well as other men."

 Explore the collection

Violence against women and children research guide (SFU Library) 
Our research guide includes extensive resources and research strategies for this topic.

Date(s)
January