Recent events have highlighted the widespread problem of sexual assault on college campuses. In New Hampshire, colleges, universities, and community partners have joined forces to help turn the tide on this epidemic. The New Hampshire Violence Against Women Campus Consortium is excited to announce its latest project: joining the call put forward in the "It's On Us" initiative, an awareness campaign to help put an end to sexual violence on college campuses. One of the features of the "It's on Us" initiative is a series of videos that encourage community responsibility to end sexual assault and promote positive bystander intervention. Many members of the Consortium worked together to produce their own version of this video, which is being launched on time for the April "It's On Us" week of action.

The Consortium is a statewide organization with the mission of providing a forum where post-secondary institutions in New Hampshire can discuss, develop, and implement strategies to end violence against women on their respective campuses. In addition to colleges and universities, the Consortium also benefits from the participation of supportive organizations concerned with issues of sexual assault and relationship violence including: the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, many of its community based member programs, and the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office Sexual Assault Resource Team (SART) initiative. It is a diverse group, including a wide range of roles from all kinds of New Hampshire institutions—large and small, public and private, commuter and residential. To watch the video, or for more information on the Consortium, please visit www.nhcampusconsortium.org.

The "It's On Us" initiative was launched in September of 2014 by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, in partnership with the Center for American Progress' Generation Progress, student leadership from colleges and universities across the country, collegiate sports organizations, and private companies connected with college and university students. According to the White House's initial press release, "the campaign seeks to engage college students and all members of campus communities in preventing sexual assault in the first place." It has indeed, engaged its audience; since its launch, students and student organizations across the county have created videos to become part of the campaign. Another essential part of the initiative is The Pledge, asking students to make" a personal commitment to keep women and men safe from sexual assault." For more information on "It's On Us," please visit www.itsonus.org

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, relationship violence, or stalking, free and confidential advocacy is available throughout New Hampshire. To be connected to an advocate, call the statewide sexual assault hotline at 1-800-277-5570, the statewide domestic violence hotline at 1-866-644-3574, or contact your local crisis center. A list of all crisis centers and their contact information can be found at http://www.nhcadsv.org/crisis_centers.cfm.