New anti-sex assault initiative stresses bystander awareness, intervention

CONCORD, N.H. - The New Hampshire Violence Against Women Campus Consortium unveiled on Wednesday its latest project: joining the call put forward in the "It's On Us" initiative, an awareness campaign to help put an end to sexual violence on college campuses.

One of the features of the "It's on Us" initiative is a series of videos that encourage community responsibility to end sexual assault and promote positive bystander intervention. Many members of the Consortium worked together to produce their own version of this video, which is being launched on time for the April "It's On Us" week of action.

The Consortium is a statewide organization with the mission of providing a forum where postsecondary institutions in New Hampshire can discuss, develop, and implement strategies to end violence against women on their respective campuses. In addition to colleges and universities, the Consortium also benefits from the participation of supportive organizations concerned with issues of sexual assault and relationship violence including: the New Hampshire Coalition

Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, many of its community based member programs, and the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office Sexual Assault Resource Team (SART) initiative.

It is a diverse group, including a wide range of roles from all kinds of New Hampshire institutions -- large and small, public and private, commuter and residential. To watch the video, or for more information on the Consortium, please visit www.nhcampusconsortium.org.