Divas and Desserts will serve as an opportunity for students who want to help prevent sexual assault to network with other students with the same goal.

The purpose is to recognize men and women who have played a role in promoting healthy sexual education and supporting victims of sexual assault, said Dr. Troy Melendez, a psychologist at the Counseling and Student Development Center. It will help others understand the emotions a victim goes through.

“This will be a networking opportunity for people interested in trying to help,” said Diane Pospisil-Kinney, a staff member at the Counseling and Student Development Center. “It will give people a chance to connect with each other.”

The sexual-assault movement covers the laws passed over the years for victim’s rights and setting up various service centers for victims. It is also about research and literature raising awareness about the issues. Trying to lessen the stigma of shame is an important goal of the movement – a movement that became most prominent in the 1970s, Pospisil-Kinney said.

Advocates such as Dr. Patricia Resick, Polly Poskin, Barbara Engel and Dr. Denise Fraser-Vaselakos will be featured.

The two-hour event, which will be held at 6 p.m. today in Neptune Central’s Fireside Lounge, will also feature an art show displaying survivor artwork. The artwork displayed helped the artists reclaim their voice, Pospisil-Kinney said.

Students will also have an opportunity to take part in an interactive display of footprints. The teal footprints, ranging in sizes from that of a child to an adult, will represent someone who influenced the student in a good way about violence or sexual assault.

The event used to be more centered on women but has evolved into an event for men and women, Melendez said.

“Even though females probably make up 90 percent of sexual assault victims, men are victims, too. They are affected,” Melendez said.

It is important to let men know they can contribute to the cause, as they will probably be called on by a friend or family member to help, Pospisil-Kinney said.

“Most men want to help, they just don’t know how,” Pospisil-Kinney said.

The event, in its second year, is sponsored by the Counseling and Student Development Center, MASIV (Men Against Sexual and Interpersonal Violence) and Safe Passage.

Leslie Rufo, a junior international relations major, said she feels it is important to attend events such as Divas and Desserts.

“It’s important for education and to learn how to prevent it from happening to somebody else,” Rufo said.