New London, N.H. – Every year, the month of April is known as "Sexual Assault Awareness Month" (SAAM), which is a campaign led by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) created to address the issue at hand but also educate the public along the way. 
 
Sexual assault is defined as a range of behaviors that involve unsolicited, and/or forceful sexual contact, which includes rape, attempted rape, and any other form of unwanted sexual touching. Last year, the SAAM campaign targeted online sexual assault by incorporating the "We Can Build Safe Online Spaces" message into the campaign. The hopes were to continue spreading awareness and "call on audiences to practice digital consent, intervene when we see harmful content and behaviors, and promote online communities that value safety and respect". 
 
This April, the 2022 SAAM campaign continues to build on the vision with a call to action: "Building Safe Online Spaces Together". In efforts to spread awareness throughout the Colby-Sawyer campus and the community, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) comprised of student-athletes who represent all teams, joined the Sexual Assault and Violence Education (SAVE) in hosting the screening of OneLove – a documentary on the progression of relationship sexual assault from happy beginnings to terrible endings. 
 
The ultimate goal of the on-campus event "was to give students a relatable example of how sexual assault can happen to anyone, even those in what began as a loving relationship" said SAAC President Couper Gunn. 
 
"It shows that progression and how easy it is for people to overlook isolated incidents that, when looked at as a whole, are terrifying. The feedback that I heard was positive. Students felt the importance of the topic conveyed through the film but, I think a new, more modern film should be shot as the current one is a little outdated", Gunn continued. 
 
"Overall, it's important for films like these to be current so that students can relate to the people in the film but, despite that, the message stays the same". 
 
Gunn is an open member of the LGBTQ+ community who not only competed on the team but led the men's soccer program during his time at Colby-Sawyer College.  
 
As an advocate for survivors, the recent grad holds many campus connections as well as respect throughout the community for using his social media platforms to spread awareness as a survivor of sexual assault himself. He feels awareness of the topic is important "because it is an issue that is not talked about enough, especially among male victims which is even more taboo in the gay community". 
 
As a gay man himself, Gunn "sees, hears, and feels the hypersexuality that exists in the community for a variety of reasons. This hypersexuality encourages gay men (especially younger ones) to take unwanted advances, touching, or photos as compliments or something to brag about. It teaches us (LGTBQ+ Community) to feel value only when others value our bodies; regardless of how they show that value". 
 
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is typically common in sexual assault victims as they struggle with symptoms such as body aches, fatigue, flashbacks, headaches, insomnia, and nightmares. Some survivors like Gunn, cannot recall the traumatic event until a triggering moment. 
 
"It took me almost a year to even recall that I had been sexually assaulted. My brain had blacked out the memories and remembering it was scary at first because I would think, "What is still hidden? What haven't I remembered yet?"."
 
Gunn continued with "It took me some time to get out of this mindset, but I wish I had been warned about this. I always thought that if I was sexually assaulted, I would recognize it immediately and wouldn't forget". 
 
After the traumatizing experience; Couper went through a lot of reflection, growth and acceptance to even acknowledge what had happened to him and even longer to put it in actual spoken words. 
 
"It took me some time to not blame myself for "allowing" that to happen to me. But I did it. I turned that blame into pride in myself for overcoming what had happened to me and I share my story now to help others," said Gunn. "But that has not been without its challenges. At times I have allowed people close to me to make me feel bad for sharing my story; it feels as though they were worried about what others would think of them for being associated with me because of how open I am with what I went through. And that's the two folded nature of being a survivor of sexual assault. Not only did and do I have to survive the act of the assault, I have to survive the stigma that others carry and put on me for being a survivor and then even more so for sharing my story".  
 
Overall, Gunn's advice to others suffering from sexual assault or even the post-traumatic symptoms is this, "It was not your fault. And there is so much strength in sharing your story with one person or millions of people and anyone in between. The people who would make you feel bad about either of those things do not belong in your life". 
 
Sexual Assault is a very serious matter that continues to grow. The SAAM campaign does a great job at spreading awareness and needs your help keep the awareness going. 
 
Please call 1-800-656-4673, if you or someone you know is experiencing sexual assault.