[music]

0:00:01.1 Janae Sargent: How does White supremacy permeate our online spaces? That's what Laura Palumbo and Mo Lewis at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center are tackling in this year's Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Campaign, building safe online spaces together. You're listening to PreventConnect, the podcast where we bring voices together across the movement to end sexual violence, to give you the tools you need to effectively practice primary prevention in your daily life and at work. My co-host, Ashleigh Klein-Jimenez and I sat down with the creators of the national 2022 SAAM campaign to talk about what we don't hear in the conversation about online safety and their plan to help preventionists and practitioners flip the script on online consent. I'm Janae Sargent, and this is PreventConnect.

0:01:02.9 Ashleigh Klein-Jimenez: I have a question for you both. I'm curious to know what brought you to work in sexual violence prevention? 

0:01:12.0 Mo Lewis: It's a good question. How does anybody get into this work, right? I was working at a Queer Youth Center and doing HIV prevention work, smoking cessation, a lot of sex ed, youth empowerment, just kind of general stuff, stuff you get funded for, to do the work, to have the space. And we got funding to do sexual violence prevention, and I applied for that and got that, and at first, I was like, "What am I doing? What is this about?" And then I learned that sexual violence prevention work is really at its core, social change work. And so I've just been all about it ever since.

0:01:47.3 Laura Palumbo: That's awesome, Mo. I feel [laughter].. I feel similarly that I feel like there's a lot of... A few points that I can now see throughout my life where there is... Was different experiences... And... That were pointing me towards this work, but interestingly, an example that I can share today is that actually, the first time I learned about the National Sexual Violence Resource Center was actually at a SAAM event at my college campus. I attended a college that is local to the part of Central Pennsylvania, where our offices happened to be located, and I had a number of friends that were involved in coordinating some of our campus' SAAM activities, and I attended one of them and got to hear our prevention director, Jen, Jennifer Grove, who was in a different position at the time, but she actually was the one who presented, and it's kind of cool to think about that, look back at that experience when we're entering the month of SAAM, because it really is this time when our field makes so many connections.

0:02:50.0 AK: Yeah, thank you both for sharing. I always love hearing people's origin stories because I think we all come to this work for different reasons, but there seems to be lots of themes with social change and being able to actually change so many things, not just maybe sexual violence, but all of the things that kind of create the conditions where sexual violence happens and... What a great tie-in, Laura, your story that it was really at a SAAM event, because that's what... That's what we're here talk with you about today. So for people who are maybe new to this work, maybe this is going to be their first April working in the field, can you share a little bit about the history of sexual assault awareness? And I think we, rightfully so, added prevention into that. So Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. And what role each of you play at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center? 

0:03:51.1 LP: Absolutely, so as you mentioned, every April is nationally recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which we fondly refer to by the acronym SAAM with two A's. Really the history of SAAM dates back to the roots of the movement. There's been a lot of coordinating and organizing that has happened in our field for long before April was officially acknowledged as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and way back in the day, NSVRC and our partners at the Resource Sharing Project, were just actually involved in pulling coalitions and groups that were involved in all of these different awareness activities and events to identify a unified color, symbol, and month.

0:04:31.5 LP: And so the big color that is something that you'll see a lot of during SAAM, but in general, symbolizes sexual violence prevention is the color teal. And at NSVRC, we try and create resources and materials that make it easier for individuals and communities to get involved in SAAM, to participate, so that they don't have to start from scratch if they wanna be involved in raising awareness and different prevention activities. So our communications team works on all of those materials that include educational information as well as visuals, content for social media, posters, fact sheets, and we can't do that alone, so we have a lot of support from other teams at NSVRC, which is where folks like Mo come in.

0:05:21.1 JS: My introduction to this work was also during SAAM in college, and I think sometimes for those of us who have been working in the field for a while and who've been through several Sexual Assault Awareness Months, it can feel really normal. I think some of us at times in our careers have maybe felt a little burnt out of the Awareness Months, and I really love that we're bringing prevention into it and just remembering the power of these months, that they really bring in new people and they energize the community around ending sexual violence. So I know we're here to talk about your 2022 theme, which I have really been looking forward to. Can you tell me a little bit about what you have planned this year? 

0:06:03.7 LP: Absolutely, so this year's theme is building safe online spaces together, and we know that folks are connecting more and more online, it feels like we keep on saying now more than ever, but it also feels increasingly true that so much of our lives are lived online... And for too long, we know that harassment, cyberbullying, sexual abuse, and exploitation have been really expected as typical and unavoidable behaviors online, and we are, in this campaign, working towards the vision of building online communities that really counter that narrative, that are centered on respect, inclusion, and safety, and where sexual harassment, assault and abuse are taken seriously. And so we are using the campaign to look at all different aspects of how we can promote safer online spaces and how, as all of us use more and more technology, we can all be a part of that process of making online spaces safer.

0:07:01.9 JS: Oh man, I just really appreciate what you said. You're right. Every year, it seems like we say now more than ever, and I think that's going to be the trend for the foreseeable future. Can you talk to me a little bit about the choice to continue with prevention in online spaces and what people can expect that might be different this year? 

0:07:20.5 LP: Yes. When we jumped into the topic of talking about prevention and online spaces last year, it was heavily influenced by the context of the pandemic, and just what felt like was this broad societal shift where it felt like we couldn't as easily separate our online lives from our real-lives and that they were deeply intertwined, and so much of life was happening online or in a hybrid fashion, and when we approached the topic last year, one of our goals was really to define online sexual abuse and to really talk about online sexual abuse in a way that was representing a full spectrum of behaviors, and the definition that we use is that online abuse can be any type of sexual harassment exploitation, or abuse that takes place through screens, and we really felt like at the time, there was a lot of very inappropriate harmful behaviors that were normal in online spaces that were not being taken seriously as online sexual abuse and harassment, and that by better defining these issues that we can play a role in them being taken more seriously.

0:08:30.9 LP: So that was also one of our big goals, was to help audiences understand that the impact of trauma online is very real, and just because some forms of sexual abuse take place behind a screen, does that make their impact on victims any less real? Which we felt like was a very common and minimizing attitude that people faced when they had these experiences of online sexual abuse and harassment. So we are gonna repeat and reinforce all of those same messages again this year, but we also want it to be really intentional about diving into making some connections and specifically talking about the increased harassment faced by BIPOC, LGBTQ, disabled, and other marginalized communities online.

0:09:13.2 LP: And although we were talking so much about safe and respectful places last year, this year, we wanted to really uplift inclusion as a foundation of building safe and respectful online spaces, because we know that the inequalities that we see in our society when we amplify harassment and abuse that happens online. At NSVRC, we're really inter messaging in the art and science of how we can communicate more effectively about sexual harassment, assault and abuse, and how we can talk about prevention and what messages resonate with different audiences and being able to learn as we go. So this year, we're also having this opportunity to test new messages and visuals, to try new and modified strategies, and incorporate feedback from last year's campaign, which, for us, is a really valuable learning experience, and of course, we wanna be able to share those lessons learned with our partners in the field as well.

0:10:07.9 JS: I keep hearing what you said about needing to focus on inclusion and on BIPOC, and LGBTQ, and marginalized survivors when we're creating online safer spaces, because we know the foundations of this movement whenever there's something new, culture, especially in the United States, really tends to focus on a white able-bodied cisgender identity and experience. Can you tell me a little bit about that conversation and how it came to be that you all at NSVRC, that this is something we really need to prioritize this year? 

0:10:43.2 LP: Interestingly, some of what felt really powerful about last year's campaign is in addition to the resources that we had, we had prepared and created, there was also a really rich national dialogue that was happening about online... And harassment that it was something that we were hearing a lot of organizations talk about last spring, and I remember as we were preparing for our last April's campaign, the Anti-Defamation League was putting out their annual survey of online hate and harassment, and in their survey from 2021 found that there were just... Not only a reoccurring prevalence of online hate and harassment towards LGBTQ individuals, but that Asian-American respondents were experiencing very sharp increases in harassment as well as well as black Americans, and so it was really interesting to see... We thought that this was all very...

0:11:41.7 LP: For us, it was very clear how this was tied into SAAM, but we wanted it to be even clearer in the messaging so that people could make that connection, and they could draw those connections to some of what we're talking about more as a society, which is that in our society, there is inequality, there's systemic racism, there is health inequity, and we're having more of these conversations in our society, how can we be sure that we are leaving them into our prevention work as well as into the way we talk about sexual harassment and abuse happening online? 

[music]

0:12:17.1 JS: PreventConnect is taking this conversation even further on our social media, and we want you to be a part of the discussion. Join in on the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where we're posting excerpts from this podcast and so many more, and asking experts, practitioners, and followers like you to share your stories and ideas. Search PreventConnect on your social media platforms to get involved.

0:12:50.6 AK: There seems to be a tendency sometimes to think of things that happen online as not being "real life," but we know that the oppressive systems and all of the isms that exist face-to-face really play out virtually too, and are just as harmful. And it's really great to see you all lifting that up and recognizing that and also building on your work from last year, increasing awareness around the fact that things that happen online, whether it's sexual violence or racism, they have the same impact as they would if they were to happen face-to-face in many ways. And so, it is our work, and it is important for us to think about how do we create safe spaces online, spaces that are equitable and supportive to people. And so it's just... It's really great to see you build on this theme. So I wanted to ask you, when we talk about online spaces and what the pandemic did to how we all engage in and interact with online spaces, virtual communities have come to mean a lot of different things, and so I'm wondering if you could define what you all mean when you reference online spaces, when we're talking about these issues? 

0:14:16.9 LP: Yes. So again, we really do feel like the pandemic has had a significant influence in breaking down the, in many ways, false walls that we were making between the online world and real life, and I know that for... As someone who identifies as an older millennial, for me, for most of my life, online spaces have never... Didn't feel like real life, but I do know that for different generations and in context, there was this sense of separation or that the online world is in some ways less real because folks are connecting virtually. We really feel like that is not... That does not speak to the way that we live our lives online now. So when we're talking about online spaces, we were talking about any context where technology is helping to create a connection, so this could be social media, things like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. Could also be in the context of online gaming, dating apps, text or messaging apps, email, things like WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, Slack and other online forums or places where chats are happening, and that's by no means the end of the list. What comes to mind for you, Mo? 

0:15:32.8 ML: Oh, I'm part of a couple of book clubs that meet online, and then they also have a Discord server where people will kind of talk and chat in between meetings, which is really fun, and I'm also part of a really active Slack group that's all people who live in the same city as me, but we chat together and discuss local politics. We share our Wordle scores. We'll even get together to sync up a movie or TV show and watch together, and just those examples make me think a lot about how... I think, especially during this pandemic, I've just really been enjoying and noticing the ways that we can kind of switch back and forth from this in-person connection to a virtual connection and have it be something that's just a regular component of the connection instead of something that's totally separate, if that makes sense.

0:16:17.5 AK: It really does, and I think that I really appreciate you both highlighting that there isn't a separation. Virtual connection is connection, and I think that that's what people use sometimes to minimize harm that happens online, is that, oh it's not that big of a deal because it's happening online when virtual spaces are so ingrained in our everyday lives. And there's so many amazing things that happen virtually, and you both named a few that are important to your lives, and every day, I see people kind of organizing using virtual platforms, or people who are advancing their education, or making connections, or finding healing, and online spaces, I think, are such an integral part to the way that we live and the way that we engage in prevention. Laura, you have mentioned earlier that respect, inclusion and safety are some of the values and skills that you all are really wanting to support, and I'm wondering, is there any additional skills that NSVRC and this campaign is really wanting to see people build as we navigate online spaces and continue to really use them to make connections and create full lives? 

0:17:39.1 LP: Yes, there's a number of resources that we've developed to try and emphasize some of the values and skills that we think are a part of that goal of online communities that value respect, inclusion and safety, and one of the big ones is practicing digital consent and really normalizing consent in everyday interactions, whether that be in virtual life, or in person, and whether it's sharing a photo, getting the consent of friends who appear in the photo, asking for permission before tagging friends, all of these ways where we can reinforce those everyday consent skills in the ways that we connect online. And then we're also talking a lot about skills for intervening when we see harmful content and behaviors online and steps that individuals can take if you see a really problematic comment that no one has responded to or addressed, or if you were, you're witnessing someone being mistreated in an online space, equipping folks to feel they can take action and intervene in those situations, as well as keeping kids safe online. So information for parents as well as for other supportive adults on how they can be looking out for the safety of children and young people in online spaces, and I'd love to hear some examples from Mo as well.

0:19:00.0 ML: Oh, I have examples. I think a lot of times, we can promote these values and skills, and then also, it's really important to almost back up a little bit, too, and look at before we even get online. What are we doing to promote equitable access to technology? That's a big thing we've seen during this pandemic that's always existed, but I think was not... The people who didn't know, didn't know, and we thought, "Everything's cool. Everybody has access to stuff." People don't all have access to stuff. So thinking about things like what is the internet speed that's available for folks. I know, Ashleigh, you live in a more rural area, and so there's always the tweaks that you're doing to make sure your internet speed is good enough to do a thing like this podcast, but really thinking about how we can help people have access to Wi-Fi, having access to a computer or a phone or a tablet, thinking about people having even a space, a private space to use technology, too, and then also thinking about really being intentional in how we're creating online spaces. So we take a lot of care in putting together maybe a group training or something, we think about how we're gonna bring people together in person, and so I think being able to be intentional in those ways we're creating those spaces online, can also be really useful in promoting these values and skills.

0:20:20.7 JS: That is such valuable insight, and I already feel my mind going a million miles an hour, and we could probably have a whole separate podcast on access to technology and equitable access to technology. I love that you tied in health equity and what we can do to deconstruct systems of oppression in online spaces and in our daily lives that allow people access to online spaces. Before the pandemic, when we thought about online spaces, we really thought about them as youth-centric, and so for me, even though young people that I worked with have been having these conversations for a while, some of the older generations didn't really think this conversation was for them, and so it's been really groundbreaking to pull people in, and I saw a lot come out of that. I'm wondering, from you all, especially as you have this deep network of connection across the country, what are some of the things that you saw come out of that campaign in the year that followed? 

0:21:22.4 LP: So we knew last year's campaign thing was timely as April 2021 was just about a year into the pandemic and in that time, so much of life was happening virtually or in hybrid ways, but we were really excited to see that, in addition to our campaign, talking about these issues in safe online spaces, that there was really... It was also well-timed in terms of a broader national dialogue about issues of online harassment, and so last spring, right before our campaign, Pew Research Center put out a really all-encompassing national study on what some of these experiences of online harassment look like and how prevalent they are, and one of the findings from that was that 41% of Americans have personally been subjected to harassing behavior online, and that an even larger share, 66%, have witnessed these behaviors directed at others, and in addition to that Pew research study, we also saw a really big study in The Economist on the global state of online violence against women and how, just thinking about the issue of violence against women and in online spaces from a global perspective, there is this... Again, this extremely high prevalence of these experiences, as well as the Anti-Defamation League you'll see on online harassment.

0:22:43.7 LP: And so it really felt there was this much broader dialogue happening about, we're living our lives online and the norms that have been established have need to change, and that was really cool. And the other example that comes to mind is really around events, advocates, educators and communities in a much better position to organize virtual and hybrid events, and it was also really exciting to see that nearly 300 events were hosted through, and the CRC's mobilized platform, which is a website that we use to support communities in planning and hosting SAAM events, and it was really exciting to see that shift as well.

0:23:23.1 JS: Wow, I'm just thinking, this is going to be our third SAAM in the pandemic and that just feels wild to me. I don't know what time means anymore and you were talking about how much changed from SAAM 2020 to SAAM 2021 and here we are in 2022, and we've seen so many changes, yet again. Obviously, this past year has come with so many ebbs and flows with variants and schools opening back up and then closing again, and as you said, all of our skills around online spaces, hosting and navigating them, changing a lot... I'm curious, how have you all seen online abuse as well as how we respond as preventionist shift over these past couple of years with the focus on online spaces? 

0:24:12.1 ML: It's chaotic, right? I'm so glad that you brought this up. It's a lot of change, it's like we're constantly evaluating what can we do? How can we do it? What do we need to shift and what do we need to move? And negotiating boundaries with other people because of COVID, and it's a lot... I think it's... Even though we're really resilient, and young people that we work with are resilient, I know it's really shaking up the ways that people are working to prevent sexual violence. And one of the biggest shifts that I know we've seen is the really amazing creativity in adapting prevention work. The best thing I've noticed is that people are really listening to what their community needs, and they're working together with the community to change things up to meet those needs, and whether that's moving things online or whether it's focusing on something totally different right now, the changes that I've seen have really been amazing, and I just think they show how adaptive we really are.

0:25:09.5 ML: There's a couple of examples that I wanna share. One is, I know folks who have moved to doing prevention lessons, things about consent and respect and all the stuff that Laura was talking about, but making them lessons that people can access at any time, and I learned a new word called asynchronous, which I learned about at the beginning of the pandemic when my niece was doing asynchronous lessons at school and I was like, "What does that mean?" I think it's a really good response to the fact that not everyone will have a private space to be on a Zoom meeting, people might not have their own room that they can be in, they might not be free at the same time, and so people have been making these lessons that you can just pick up any time you have a free 15 minutes or 30 minutes, and still get the same information and maybe then chat about it asynchronously too, so on like a chat board or a Slack or something.

0:26:00.7 ML: Another example is people doing work at the community level. So not just thinking about individual and relationship level changes about your own attitudes or the way that you interact with somebody else, but this community level work is sometimes more behind the scenes that might be easier to do during these chaotic times when you don't need to get everybody together at the same time but you can do this work improving policies and practices, or helping advocate for improvements that will benefit everyone in a certain community, folks doing work about technology access, like I had mentioned before, equitable access, improving Wi-Fi, all of that kind of stuff. So, those are some of the shifts that I've seen that have been just really amazing.

0:26:41.9 JS: I always love examples. And you're completely right. I think, thinking back to SAAM of 2020, and especially the year that followed, virtual spaces felt really reactionary to what was going on in the world, and we always use that term, "This is temporary, and we'll be back to in-person," and to an extent, that's true, but something that I've seen come out of these past couple of years is an ability to be flexible for the community, because some people can't come to in-person events, especially if they're in the evenings and they're taking care of families or we've seen hybrid really working for people. So we're in this really rad space where we can pick and choose what works for us and our communities moving forward.

0:27:31.2 JS: If you like what you hear, check out other Valor Media podcasts about ending sexual violence and advancing equity. Valor Conversations, a podcast about the collective power to prevent sexual violence in California, or Leadership Moves, a podcast that shares the stories of leaders of color who carry the legacies of those who built the movement to end sexual and domestic violence. You can find both at valor.us or wherever you listen to podcasts.

0:28:09.9 AK: Okay, I have to ask. Are you all doing 30 days of SAAM on Instagram? [laughter] And what other events or resources are you really looking forward to? 

0:28:22.6 LP: That's a great question, Ashleigh. And there's gonna be so much going on throughout the month of April, and NSVRC will actively be sharing on a daily basis, and one of the ways that that will happen is through our hashtag, 30 days of SAAM Instagram challenge, which thank you for [laughter] giving the Instagram challenge a shoutout, Ashleigh, we actually have heard that question from so many people in our online communities, and so yes, we will be bringing the Instagram challenge back again. The prompts are currently up on our website, although we are still adding a few of the other social media materials. If you feel like you've been checking the site and not everything is there yet, we really hope it'll be worth the wait. [laughter]

0:29:03.3 LP: And in that Instagram challenge, we give a daily prompt to share about SAAM and engage our online community each day in April. And so that is one of the ways that we'll be participating online. And NSVRC also recognizes the first Tuesday of April, as the SAAM day of action, and we just pick a day at the beginning of the month, where we can put out a call of action to our community to participate online and share about SAAM and to really just bring increased visibility and momentum to the campaign. So that is definitely something to mark your calendars on, and that is April 5th.

0:29:38.6 LP: And we're also looking forward to another other observances that are coordinated by our partners and fall during the month of April. So International Anti-Street Harassment Week has traditionally also fallen during the month of SAAM, and that is coordinated by our partners at Stop Street Harassment, and that will be this year from April 3rd through 9th, and it's also going to be National Public Health Week, that's first full week of April, that April 4th-10th. It's on us as having that same week as Spring Week of Action for students that are engaged on college campuses.

0:30:14.3 LP: And then one of the things that I personally am always looking forward to is an observance that is towards the end of the month, which is Denim Day. And this year it is gonna fall on Wednesday, April 27th, and that is coordinated by our partners at Peace Over Violence, which is... Shoutout to California folks, since they're based in LA, and you can learn all about that great campaign in observance on denimday.org.

0:30:40.2 AK: Thanks, Laura. I have to say, Instagram is my social media platform of choice, so I always look forward to the 30 days of SAAM challenge, and I'm going to definitely participate this year.

0:30:55.3 JS: So I think the topic of online consent and safety is so visceral to us, all of us, in so many ways. I'm gonna ask the same question twice with two different contexts. First one is, what can organizations and preventionists do in their own programs to weave this theme of digital safety through their work? 

0:31:15.0 ML: I think we can just make sure we don't treat it as something separate. We can just make sure we keep in mind that it's one aspect of almost all of our lives, so we don't need a separate digital safety lesson or component necessarily. We can just weave in those examples throughout the work that we're doing and normalize it just being a part of our lives.

0:31:38.6 LP: That's great. And one thing I also think about is that, you asking the question, "What can organizations and preventionists to do?" is so important because for a long time, I think digital safety has really been really only talked about in a way that's talking about individuals protecting themselves, their privacy, their information, their data online, which is all great and important, but we really wanna talk about how we, as communities, can look out for everyone's safety, whether in line or in person. And so, when I think about what organizations and preventionists can do, I think being thoughtful about how you moderate those spaces, be really active in moderating and responding if there's problematic behaviors that happen within your community, being mindful about things like privacy settings and giving people as much information as possible, so that they can make informed decisions about their online privacy, I feel like there's a lot of small steps that whether it's schools, or workplaces, or local service providers can take to be putting this into practice.

0:32:42.7 JS: And so you kind of already started my next question, and that's just, what can we, as human beings, who might not be preventionists, what can we do to prevent violence in online spaces that we or someone we know might be engaging in? 

0:32:56.4 ML: I think it can be really powerful just to be online, living your values, being who you are, practicing consent, speaking up if there's something that needs to be spoken up about. I know that that has really impacted me when I've seen other people live their values openly online. And so, I think that's just a good way of thinking about being a person online, is just how can you be who you are also online and show that and show up in those ways.

0:33:26.9 JS: Oh my gosh, thank you so much, both of you, for sharing everything that you did about the campaign and what we can expect. I'm really excited to see it. I think we all are. Okay, so at PreventConnect, we're starting this new tradition, and maybe it's because I'm new, maybe it's my own selfish need, but around this idea that we're all such a wealth of knowledge, and we have this really beautiful community that I want to tap into, and I'm sure other people feel that way, too. So we're gonna go into a couple of rapid fire questions, is that okay? 

0:34:02.1 LP: Sounds good.

0:34:03.1 AK: What is one hope you have for the field of sexual violence prevention in 2022? 

0:34:08.8 ML: I hope we can put in some actual effort behind all of the words that we've said, just generally about being an anti-racist and equitable movement. And I think about how can I do that personally and what needs to happen within my workplace and within the field in general? I really think this mainstream sexual violence movement, we're pretty good at saying we have certain values and putting out a statement sometimes and talking the talk, but when it comes to living those values, we have a ways to go. And so, I'm hoping that we can get closer to that this year.

0:34:41.8 LP: That's awesome, Mo. And I think that one thing that comes to mind for me as well is just that folks can continue to make and broaden connections and to be thinking really... To be thinking about our work in a way that is very intersectional and not compartmentalizing about prevention work, but seeing it as directly related to anti-racism work, to the disability justice work, to language justice work. And so I do feel, as well, is we have a lot of good room to grow in making deeper connections and tearing down some of the silos that have been built up in our work, so that... And that by tearing down those silos, our prevention work is only going to be all the more meaningful, impactful, and equitable.

0:35:32.6 JS: Okay, last question. And this is mainly me being selfish and trying to crowdsource, but is there one resource, song, speech, YouTube video, or podcast that you're really loving right now that you think people should go check out? 

0:35:48.1 LP: Actually going outside, that would be [chuckle] the one resource that is really on my mind. It's a huge goal of mine to actually get outside at some point after this podcast recording to just feel some sunshine and to breathe some fresh air. And, personally, I really love bringing the outside world and the online world together and enjoying something like a podcast or a playlist as I am enjoying walking around outside.

0:36:16.1 ML: Okay, I have a podcast that then you can listen to on your playlist while you're walking outside. The podcast is called Unsolicited: Fatties Talk Back, and it's a Fat Liberation podcast. It was started back in October, and I really love it. It's one of those podcasts that feels like you are getting to eavesdrop on a really great conversation between these friends who are super smart. And they also do this thing where they include all the links to the media that they talk about during the episodes. Everybody here is very smart. They all do a bunch of other different work, and they will reference different things like a paper or an article or something, and then they put it all in the show notes. So it's like you get the best of both worlds where people are like, "What snack do you really like right now?" and, "What's going on for you in your life?" and, "What are you thinking about Spring?" And then also these really great resources too. So that's my recommendation.

0:37:12.6 JS: Thank you. We will link that in the description of this podcast. I love that. Well, Mo, Laura, thank you so much for chatting with us. And Ashleigh, thank you for being an amazing cohost. We are so excited to check out the SAAM campaign. Is there anything that we haven't asked that you really wanna make sure that we get out there before we end our conversation? 

0:37:36.2 LP: Thank you so much for inviting us to share about Sexual Assault Awareness Month. We are also super excited for this April's campaign. And I think one of the other... We will have some great links to share, and you can go to NSVRC's website. If you Google Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it's awesome, we're one of the top hits. And so that's another way that you can find those materials. But I think the one thing that I would just add is that for us at NSVRC, and I know for our partners in the fields, although we are very super excited for SAAM and how it is this really special time to make those connections and to mobilize and celebrate, to mobilize our communities and to celebrate advocates and survivors, I also feel that these resources can be valuable to support your efforts all year round. So hopefully, [chuckle] even if you're listening to this podcast after April, you can check out some of these materials and think about ways that they can serve your work.

[music]

0:38:36.2 JS: Thanks for listening. PreventConnect is made possible by ValorUS, the Centers for Disease Control, and listeners like you. You can find links to all of the things that we talked about in this episode in the description, as well as check out the full SAAM campaign from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. We're publishing new episodes each month, so be sure to subscribe to PreventConnect, so you don't miss out. If you wanna learn more about PreventConnect and what we are doing to create a world free of violence, head to preventconnect.org and be sure to like, rate, and review us, so we can reach more folks like you.