Events

Check out the following on-campus, off-campus, and virtual events happening throughout the month:

Northeastern University Events:

  • Accountable Communities: An Introduction to Restorative Practices – Thursday, April 21st from 12:00 to 1:00 PM via Zoom: Join Kyla Martin, OPEN’s Confidential Resource Advisor, to learn the foundational ideas of restorative practices. The one-hour program will include activities for attendees to engage with one another in a restorative way. Register for the event using this link.
  • Art Therapy for Sexual Assault Awareness Month – Thursday, April 28th from 6:00 – 7:30 PM in the Robinson Tent (Bamboo Tent): Join UCHS therapist, Laura Huebner, LMHC for hands-on art therapy exercises that promote self-care and healing. The event is free and open to both survivors and those supporting them. Space is limited.  Sign up here. (Sponsored by OPEN, UHCS, & SARC)

 

Community (In-Person & Virtual) Events

  • Boston Area Rape Crisis Center Walk For Change – Saturday, April 24th from 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM at DCR Constitution Beach (East Boston, MA): BARCC’s annual Walk for Change raises vital funds to support the free services BARCC continues to provide for 15,000 survivors, their families, loved ones, and community members annually. Use this link to register and/or to create/join a team to fundraise to support survivors.

Learn to RESPOND

 

If someone tells you that they have been impacted by sexual violence, you may be unsure or even feel unequipped to know what to say or do. In this training offered by OPEN via Canvas, you will learn how to offer support to someone making a disclosure in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered way. This training covers basics on the impacts of sexual trauma, information on why a compassionate response to disclosures is so important, step-by-step considerations for an effective response, and information on resources.

Once you have completed the course, you can download a completion certificate that can be shared on LinkedIn or other social networks.

To self-enroll, use this link and log in using your Northeastern credentials.

Sexual Violence Prevention Online Modules

 

OPEN also offers a variety of other online courses available to Northeastern community members through Canvas. Several courses pertain to sexual violence prevention. You can self-enroll by clicking the links below.

Up2Us: Foundations is Northeastern’s foundational sexual violence prevention program required for all new, incoming students to the university. This course covers topics including consent and healthy sexual communication, warning signs of sexual violence, how to intervene to prevent sexual violence, and resources related to sexual violence.

Up2Us: Bystander Intervention: Bystander intervention is one of the most promising strategies we have for preventing sexual violence. In this training, you will learn to recognize situations that are potentially high-risk for violence and how to effectively intervene. The module also covers how alcohol can affect a person’s ability to give consent, resource options, and how to support survivors of sexual violence. Note: This course is not the same as Up2Us: Foundations. We recommend taking Up2Us: Foundations prior to taking Up2Us: Bystander Intervention.

Up2Us: Preventing Sexual Violence as a Student Leader: Designed for student leaders, this course focuses on preventing and responding to sexual violence within student organizations. Participants will learn skills for intervening to prevent violence, discuss building an organizational culture that is actively anti-violent, and discuss best practices for how to support survivors within your group.

 

Sexual Violence Virtual Library

 

OPEN is excited to partner with Northeastern University Library to offer campus community members access to a variety of books on the topic of sexual violence. View OPEN’s Sexual Violence Virtual Library and the Northeastern University Library’s full list.

A few titles include:

Know My Name by Chanel Miller: Chanel Miller “was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford’s campus…Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words…Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.”

Writing Ourselves Whole by Jen Cross: “Writing Ourselves Whole is a collection of essays and creative writing encouragements for sexual trauma survivors who want to risk writing a different story. Each short chapter offers encouragement, experience, and exercises.”

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, & Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, MD: In this book, “Dr. Bessel van der Kolk uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust […] Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.”