ODU to Host Nov. 6 Fear 2 Freedom Event to Support Victims of Sexual Abuse
November 01, 2018
The Fear 2 Freedom kit includes a personal note from the volunteer who put the package together.
Old Dominion University will join the non-profit organization Fear 2 Freedom to assemble sexual abuse after-care kits that will be distributed as needed to communities.
The event will be held inside the North Café at Webb University Center from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 6.
During the "Celebration Night" event, students will assemble the Fear 2 Freedom after-care kits. They are designed to meet the immediate physical, emotional and psychological needs of those affected by sexual assault. Each kit includes a personal note from the volunteer who put the package together.
The packages, which are described by the organization as "a medical kit for the heart," are intended for sexual assault victims who have to undergo a PERK examination, during which their clothing is taken for forensic evidence.
Each child- and adult-specific kit includes a T-shirt, sweatpants, underwear, toiletries and the personal note of support as well as other items such as a "Freedom Bear," storybook, journal or toy and a list of community resources.
"The goal of this event is to raise awareness and serve as a beaming light of hope," said La Wanza Lett-Brewington, director of Old Dominion University's Women's Center. "We want to make a difference, provide resources and let everyone know that our campus will not tolerate sexual assaults of any kind."
Fear 2 Freedom is a Virginia-based organization that works to educate college students on sexual abuse and restore joy to sexual assault victims. The group was founded in 2011 by Rosemary Trible, the first lady of Christopher Newport University, who was raped at gunpoint in 1975.
In recent years, Fear 2 Freedom has delivered more than 20,000 kits to women and children, and the group has university-hospital partnerships across the state. In 2014, Fear 2 Freedom introduced a campaign to make the kits available to hospitals across the country.
For more information about the organization, visit fear2freedom.org. For more information about the event, call the ODU Women's Center at 757-683-4109 or email womenctr@odu.edu. Information about sexual assault prevention and available resources can be found at the ODU S.A.F.E. Program website (https://www.odu.edu/life/gettinginvolved/programming/safe).
