Sexual Assault Awareness Month begins Monday, and educational events on the subject will be hosted around the community to raise awareness throughout the month about the issue.

Molly McLay, co-chair of the SAAM committee and assistant director of the Women’s Resources Center, said the events aim to change the public’s response to the crime.

“It’s important to know how to support survivors, how to say things that show you care about them and respect them,” she said.

Detective Rob Murphy, of UIPD and a SAAM committee member, said many sexual assault victims don’t come forward, making sexual assault one of the most under-reported crimes. In 2011, there were 12 total reported incidents of forcible sex offenses on the main campus, according to UIPD. The total number of reported incidents for 2012 will not be verified until September.

McLay said the public has a tendency to immediately bombard suvivors with questions about what they were wearing or doing before the crime took place, which she referred to as victim-blaming statements. She said this is a reason why survivors are less likely to come forward.

“Those are all things that put the responsibility on the survivor instead of where it belongs, which is on the person who committed the crime,” she said.

To raise awareness and educate students about the issue, many organizations around campus are hosting events throuhgout the month.

The campus’s seventh annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes will take place Friday in order to combat sexual assault, rape and gender violence.

Victoria Andros, event co-chair and junior in AHS, said at the event, male students will walk two laps around the Quad, which is approximately a mile, wearing in red, high-heeled shoes. She said the goal of the event is to combat sexual assault, rape and gender violence.

Andros said her committee added more educational elements to this year’s event to correct the assumption that the event is a social function, including a 50-shirt display from the Clothesline Project, which will be showcased outside Foellinger Auditorium.

Other registered student organizations at the University are also hosting awareness events. The University chapter of Amnesty International is hosting its annual SlutWalk on Thursday.

The event is based on comments from a Canadian police officer, Constable Michael Sanguinetti, who said women could prevent their own rape if they dressed more respectably.

The walk is intended to change the way people respond to sexual assault victims, said Ben Daniels, co-organizer of the event and senior in LAS.

He said the event is open to both men and women because conversations about sexual assault need to take place with both genders.

Stephanie Ames, SAAM committee co-chair and advocate at Rape Advocacy, Counseling and Education Services, said in an email that people need to talk about sexual assault because ignoring the issue will not stop it from happening.

“If we can create awareness and spread facts instead of perpetuating myths, we can work to create a safer community and world,” she said.

Sari can be reached at [email protected].