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Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center

About Us

Need immediate assistance? Please call our 24/7 Crisis Line at 734-936-3333.

Office Phone:
734-764-7771

24/7 Crisis Line:
734-936-3333

Email:
sapac@umich.edu

Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Address:

4130 Michigan Union
530 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1308

*We are located on the 4th floor of the Michigan Union

SAPAC's Anti-Racism Statement

SAPAC addresses sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, and sexual and gender-based harassment on campus in a multitude of ways. We offer prevention education for students, confidential support for survivors (students, faculty, and staff), and partnerships with other offices to offer trainings, programs, and innovative community engagement strategies that strive to collectively create a campus free from violence. 

 

We acknowledge the complex history of the anti-violence movement. This movement includes tremendous strides towards equality and social justice as well as the continued perpetuation of racism, bias, oppression, discrimination, and prejudice – the very things that the movement seeks to dismantle. 

 

It is our goal to eliminate the racism, bias, oppression, discrimination, and prejudice that have affected sexual violence service delivery, and we have created commitments that will shape every aspect of our work. 

 

  • SAPAC strives to create a diverse community of students and staff that is accessible, welcoming, affirming, and inclusive.

 

  • We value a community that acknowledges, celebrates, and learns from our similarities, differences, and multidimensionality.

 

  • We embrace cultural humility, social justice accountability, and equitable support of all community members.

 

  • We strive to provide programs and services that are culturally-informed and center the unique background, identity, and experiences of those we serve.

 

  • We commit to engaging in self-examination of our own biases; being open to feedback; and evaluating and improving our services to ensure they more effectively serve historically marginalized communities. 

 

  • We are committed to enacting anti-racism in our practices, policies, and procedures.

 

  • By enacting these practices, we seek to transform our culture to one that is free of violence and honors the dignity and worth of every person.   

Our Work

The Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center offers prevention education for students, confidential support for survivors (students, faculty, and staff), and collaborates with other offices to offer trainings, programs, and innovative community engagement strategies to collectively create a campus free from violence.

Our History

January 1985
Students launch a sit-in the office of Vice-President for Student Services, Henry Johnson, to address safety concerns of women on campus and the need to open a rape crisis center.

May 1985
University executive officers approve $75,000 for the initiation of an anti-assault program.

Our Vision & Philosophy

SAPAC promotes social change and activism on two levels: through the professional services we provide to the University of Michigan community, and through student leadership development wherein students help students as peers.  We believe that people of all identities must work together to eradicate sexual assault, stalking, sexual harassment, and intimate partner violence and that this necessitates activism in many areas, including education, advocacy, crisis-intervention, safety-building, bystander intervention, and policy development. 

Our Goals & Values

At SAPAC we are committed to the following goals and principles:

  1. Educate the University of Michigan community about sexual assault, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment, and stalking in order to raise awareness and promote a nonviolent campus community from a primary prevention approach.
  2. Through collaboration and partnerships, strengthen and provide services for survivors and their friends and family.
  3. To support the rights of survivors of sexual violence through coordination and promotion of effective administrative, legal, and medical responses, including the University's policies and procedures that address these issues.
  4. Ensure the inclusion of a wide diversity of people as staff, volunteers and constituents; and be culturally accessible to all groups in our work.
  5. Collaborate with campus organizations and community agencies to develop, communicate, and implement strategies to prevent and eradicate sexual assault, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment, and stalking and all forms of oppression in the University of Michigan community.
  6. To promote data collection and research efforts in order to best target policy and service initiatives and actively participate in the broader academic venue.

SAPAC's Values

Respect
SAPAC works towards a campus free of violence. We promote equality and respect for all members of our community through our commitment to primary prevention.

Survivor Empowerment
SAPAC recognizes that survivors are experts in their own lives. We strive to create a supportive and safe environment, empowering survivors with the knowledge to make their own decisions.

Social Justice
SAPAC encourages our campus community to challenge all forms of oppression, celebrate diversity, and promote cultural humility while increasing awareness of the intersectionality of discrimination.

Student-Centeredness
SAPAC fosters student growth and leadership through collaboration and partnerships, engaging students in every level of our work.

Excellence
SAPAC provides quality comprehensive education and services through evidence-based best practices, continually assessing and evaluating the needs of survivors and the campus community.