Are you up for the Winter Break Challenge?

Have you heard of SAFER (Students Active for Ending Rape)? They are an amazing organization that works on campus sexual assault policy reform.

In my day job I work at AAUW and earlier this year I collaborated with SAFER to create a campus sexual assault program in a box. Last month I co-presented with SAFER at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference about how to make campuses safer without placing mobility restrictions on students. In short, I support and want to help promote SAFER’s work.

Today they are launching a Winter Break Challenge for college students. From SAFER:

Today marks the one year anniversary of the SAFER and V-Day Campus Accountability Project! CAP is a nation-wide effort to build a database of college/university sexual assault policies, and encourage students to push for change in sexual violence prevention and response on their campus. We currently have 130 policies published in our public, searchable database. Our goal is to reach 200 by Janurary 31, 2011, but we need your help. This winter break, we’re challenging college students across the country to take a look at their school’s policy, and let us know what awesome work your school is doing and what needs serious improvement.

If you’ve been reading the SAFER’s blog, you know a little about why policy is such an integral part of the anti-violence movement. But for a recap, let this video (with subtitles, made by one of our fabulous interns) break it down for you:

We hope you register on our site and check out the database, and if your school isn’t there, take some time this winter to use our step-by-step policy analysis form to submit your school. If your school is there already, or if you’re no longer a student, please tell your friends at other schools to check out their policies, and spread the word about the project via your own blogs/facebook/twitter. All students should know exactly what resources their schools offer (or don’t offer) and that they have the power to hold their schools accountable for making their campus SAFER. You’ll also be helping us gather a completely unique and super important set of data about best and worst practices at schools across the country. We will eventually be able to use your info to advocate for large-scale change!

You can find go here to find the full press release about CAP and the Winter Break Challenge. Ann was actually kind enough to introduce the project here when it debuted last year, and you can visit her post, or SAFER and V-Day’s websites, to read a little more about campus sexual assault and how this all got started. Hope to see your school represented soon!