Listen to PAVE peer facilitator Spencer Runde discuss PAVE’s history and current work on campus. 

Trancript:

When looking back on the history of student activism on campus, specifically for the prevention of sexual assault, it is vital that we recognize the PAVE organization. PAVE stands for Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment, and our mission is to prevent sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and more through education and activism. We accomplish this by hosting volunteer groups, orchestrating workshops for other orgs and events on campus, and different awareness-raising campaigns throughout the years. PAVE was originally founded in 2001 by UW student Angela Rose, forming a group that uses education and action to deconstruct rape culture and address forms of sexual and power-based violence. Nowadays, PAVE has chapters in other countries all over the world reaching places such as Australia and India. Angela Rose is still the head of the national organization.

Angela Rose and other campus advocates against sexual violence have helped mold PAVE into what the organization is today; a confidential, peer-led resource for students seeking education or support regarding power-based violence. Our office, located in the Student Activity Center, is a large room designed to provide a comforting atmosphere for students and staff alike. Some events hosted regularly in the office are our Support Spaces, our Volunteer Leadership Program (VLP), and our Peer Education Program (PEP). Support Spaces are a weekly event that provide a chill atmosphere that allows students to come into the office and seek support from our confidential peer staff or just hang out and do homework. VLP is one of our volunteer programs that meets once a week and focuses on a project that spreads PAVE’s message throughout the year. As for our other volunteer program, PEP, it focuses on educating our volunteers on some of our workshops and teaching them to facilitate. This program also assists volunteers in actively engaging with important conversations surrounding these taboo topics with family, peers, and relationships in their lives. These volunteer groups are our main way of addressing power-based violence and strengthening prevention on this campus.

PAVE has a primary focus on planning and executing several events during the month of April, which is also known as Sexual Assault Awareness Month or SAAM. These events can range from anything involving DIY arts & crafts and documentary showings to panel discussions with professionals in the field of violence prevention. PAVE is dedicated to providing resources for survivors while engaging in sexual violence prevention, especially during this month.

At PAVE, the knowledge our organization carries is constantly evolving and spreading. Something we like to say at the office or in one of our workshops is, “What is said here, stays here, but what is learned here, leaves here.”