Summer Delaney/Medill
WASHINGTON –Twilight’s Ashley Greene, the latest celebrity to hit Capitol Hill, helped launch the first “branding” symbol to combat domestic violence and sexual assault Wednesday, saying young victims need to better understand how to stand up for themselves.
The campaign titled, “NO MORE,” focuses on building awareness and support on the issue of violence and assault directed at women, minorities and others. Greene helped introduce the symbol and also a new study about the realities of sexual assault among 15- to 22-year-olds.
The study showed that 51 percent of all 15- to 22-year-olds know a victim of dating violence or sexual assault, and 40 percent said they would not know how to help a victim.
“If we want to encourage bystanders to become upstanders, it’s essential for young adults to be educated early in their teen years so they know what to look for and what to do,” Greene said.
Modeled after the pink breast cancer and red AIDS ribbons, the blue “O” in the campaign’s “NO” represents a zero — an end to sexual assault. The new icon aims to push domestic violence as the issue of the decade.
“What we really needed in the area of domestic violence and sexual assault was to galvanize all the voices, create a symbol that was louder than life itself, that was undeniable,” Christine Mau, a domestic violence survivor and design director of the logo, said. “We created the idea of “no more” and the symbol that is confident, it is empowering and is hopeful.”
The event’s sponsors including Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, declared March 13 NO MORE Day nationwide. Various events throughout Washington were scheduled, including a “NO MORE Night” at the Washington Wizards NBA game and a National Press Club luncheon featuring CSI: Special Victims Unit actress Mariska Hargitay.
