Church program warns of college sex assault risk
A group fighting domestic violence will sponsor three upcoming presentations of the award-winning documentary movie "The Hunting Ground," which exposes a culture of denial amid a high percentage of sexual assaults on American college campuses.
The Domestic Violence Outreach Ministries of St. Raymond de Penafort in Mount Prospect, St. Edna in Arlington Heights and St. Mary of the Annunciation in Mundelein, in coordination with the ministries of Our Lady of the Wayside and St. James parishes in Arlington Heights, are showing the 2015 documentary film, which will be followed by group discussion.
Based on statistical data and personal experiences, the film says that approximately 20 percent of undergraduate college students are sexually assaulted, yet many university administrators deny that a problem exists.
College and college-bound students and their parents are invited to attend one of the two-hour presentations:
• Sunday, July 16, 6 p.m. at St. Raymond de Penafort Parish Life Center, I-Oka and Lincoln Streets, Mount Prospect.
• Sunday, July 23, 3:30 p.m. at St. Edna Parish Hurley Center, 2525 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights.
• Sunday, July 30, 6 p.m. at St. Mary of the Annunciation, 22333 West Erhart Road, Mundelein.
The ministries of the sponsoring parishes are members of the Archdiocese of Chicago Domestic Violence Outreach, led by Rev. Charles W. Dahm, who has preached on domestic violence in more than 100 Catholic parishes in the Chicago area. The outreach has developed the most comprehensive program addressing domestic violence of any Catholic diocese in the United States. Parish ministries often collaborate to increase domestic violence awareness, direct victims to local services, and provide educational programming in support of healthy relationships.
The faith communities of the Archdiocese of Chicago emphasize that every person deserves to be safe in his or her relationships. A wide range of resources is available in the Northwest suburbs. For information, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE (4673) or www.rainn.org) or the Love Is Respect National Teen Dating Violence Helpline (866-331-9474 or www.loveisrespect.org).
More information on the archdiocese outreach effort is at www.DomesticViolenceOutreach.com.