The Rape Crisis Center (RCC) raised awareness about eradicating sexual violence for White Ribbon Day on Wednesday, March 1.

Representatives from the RCC tabled in the Shapiro Campus Center with the aim of informing students about the White Ribbon Project, a movement that hopes to “get men involved in the conversation in ending sexual violence and rape culture in general,” said Marcelo Brociner ’18, a peer advocate for the RCC.

The White Ribbon Project was founded in Canada in 1991 after one man massacred 14 women in Montreal, according to the website for the Massachusetts White Ribbon Day Campaign. The White Ribbon Project recognizes “the importance of getting men involved in the conversation about ending or eradicating sexual violence, because they tend to not be as involved,” Brociner said.

Students who came to the table, both men and women, were invited to take the White Ribbon Day Pledge, which asked students to promise, “From this day forward, I promise to be part of the solution in ending violence against women and all gender-based violence,” and to “remind myself and others that gender-based violence is a men’s issue that affects all of us, regardless of our backgrounds and identities.”

After taking the pledge, students were given a white ribbon pin to wear for the day. “The crux of the White Ribbon Project is folks pledge … I read the pledge, you say it back to me, you put your name down, and then you wear a white ribbon for the day, as visible as possible, to raise literal visibility and awareness of the project,” said Brociner.

As part of their efforts for White Ribbon Day, the RCC also hosted a screening later in the day of “My Masculinity Helps,” a short documentary that provides statistics and shows men how prevalent sexual assault is, according to Brociner.

The documentary, rather than glorifying men in the project, shows “men using their privilege to help fight against sexual violence,” said Bruna Ferranti ’17, Marketing and Communications Coordinator for the RCC.