Safe Space's third annual Speak Out was held last week to provide a forum for sexual assault survivors and their supporters to relate their stories as part of the healing process.
"It's not often that you can take as long as you want to speak about your experience," said co-organizer Nicole Willey '08.
"It's empowering and it's an opportunity to give voice to what you have been going through," she added.
Sunday's Speak Out lasted about two and half hours, during which survivors were invited to stand up and speak whenever they felt so moved.
"What struck me most about it was how most of the women who got up?I'd say about 90 percent?said they didn't plan on getting up and didn't come with a story prepared to tell," said Director of the Women's Resource Center Meadow Davis.
"It says something about the safe space that was created that really moved all different women to get up and tell their own stories about sexual violence in their lives and relationships," she said.
"It's also eye opening for the audience to watch people stand up and talk about what happened to them as well," said co-organizer Emily Coffin '08.
Some 50 people attended the Speak Out, including a number of Bowdoin administrators.
"There was a great attendance from a wide variety of different women on campus," said Davis, as well as "from the deans office, athletics, and there were a number of men, which was wonderful to see."
Willey, who has attended the annual event from the first Speak Out when she was a first year, said that each year has a different atmosphere and that this year "it was more intimate...The ratio of people who spoke to the number of people in the audience was higher."
Willey and Coffin said that about half of the stories were about sexual assault experiences at Bowdoin.
"A lot of people came to Bowdoin already survivors, and it was interesting to hear the impact of those experiences on their Bowdoin experience," said Coffin.
"It's difficult to handle the ambiguity of a healthy sexual relationship with the drinking culture at Bowdoin," she said.
"The thing for people to be aware of is that sexual violence takes so many forms, but that most of the stories were about boyfriends or close friends or at least people they knew as acquaintances," said Davis. "There were not many stories about strangers."
Davis also said that "the Speak Out said something about the really wonderful culture of Bowdoin, that there were so many different women who said how lucky they felt to have a space to say these things out loud."
The Safe Space Speak Out was the kickoff to a series of events that observe April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
A number of events are planned throughout the month, including Red Shirt Day, a film screening, and a series of workshops conducted by speaker Brett Sokolow, a lawyer who has handled many sexual violence cases on campuses.
The campus-wide workshop, entitled "Drunk Sex or Date Rape?" will attempt to help students understand the difference between the two.
The names and numbers of Safe Space members can be obtained from the lists posted in bathrooms around campus, as well as by contacting deans, office of residential life members, and the Counseling Center.