THE FACTS
Cleveland Clinic and the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center are working together to organize the All Black Affair Gala to raise awareness for sexual assault and sexual violence. While the crisis center raises awareness on the issue on a daily basis, Cleveland Clinic would like to stress the importance of obtaining rape kits when filing police reports and assure survivors that their voices will be heard, and their experiences will not be invalidated.
Sexual assault and sexual violence are important issues that affect many people. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives, and, in the United States of America, one in three women and one in six men will experience some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime.
With the founding of the Time’s Up movement, an initiative against sexual harassment, and the message “#MeToo” trending across all media, women and men are finally being given the platform and the voice to speak up about their experiences with sexual violence and sexual assault. People are calling for a change to occur in government policies and for justice to be served to perpetrators.
Following the 2018 Golden Globes, women and men across the United States joined together in wearing black to show solidarity with those who have been affected by sexual offenses.
Lisa Borders, founder of the Time’s Up movement, will speak at the gala about the long-standing need for survivors of sexual assault to have a space where they can share their experiences and strive for justice without fear of judgment of ridicule. Along with Borders, Kerry Washington, Tracee Ellis Ross, Reese Witherspoon, Terry Crews and Tyler Perry will also speak.
The gala will take place at Windows on the River, 2000 Sycamore St, Cleveland, OH 44113. Parking is available in the Nautica Main Lot, on Sycamore Street, for $5.
Pre-registration tickets, tickets bought by Sunday, November 18, 2018, can be purchased for $75. Tickets purchased on or after Monday, November 19, 2018, will cost $100. Tickets bought on the day of the event, Saturday, December 6, 2018, can be purchased for $150. Tickets can be purchased at the KeyBank State Theatre ticket office at 1519 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115, or online via Ticketmaster.
All proceeds from the gala will go to updating rape kits in Cleveland Clinic facilities and to providing survivors with resources, groups, programs, and more at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center to help cope with the aftermath of their experiences.
“At Cleveland Clinic, one of the ways that we provide care to our patients is by investigating the problems that they encounter. Rape and sexual assault permeate our society and have become important, but under-talked-about issues. It is vital for us, as citizens, to begin having the necessary conversations needed to end sexual violence across the country.”
Tomislav Mihaljevic, MD
President and CEO, Cleveland Clinic
“Often, survivors choose not to report their experiences because they fear rape kits or they think that no one will believe them. At the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, we are excited to partner with Cleveland Clinic to raise awareness for such a crucial issue and assure survivors that reporting their experiences is very important.”
Sondra Miller
President and CEO, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center
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CLEVELAND CLINIC
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. One of the services that the clinic provides is medical examinations, medical counselling, and other resources for survivors of sexual assault.
CLEVELAND RAPE CRISIS CENTER
As issues of sexual violence continue to appear in the media, increasing numbers of survivors find the courage to tell their stories. Many survivors reach out to the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center for help coping with their experiences and finding ways to prevent sexual assault in the future.
CLEVELAND CLINIC
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, later Cleveland Clinic, was founded on Feb. 5, 1921, by Cleveland doctors George W. Crile, Frank E. Bunts, William E. Lower, and John Phillips with the mission to provide better care of the sick, investigation into community problems, and further education of those who serve. Today, Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education.
CLEVELAND RAPE
CRISIS CENTER
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center was founded in 1974 by Lynn Hammond and Carrie Zander to provide needed services and support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse, promote healing and prevention, and advocate for social change. Since its founding in 1974, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has grown into a growing nonprofit organization that provides counseling services, victim assistance in the justice system, and 24-hour services to survivors in multiple counties across Northeast Ohio.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact Daijha Lynn Thompson
Cleveland Clinic Public Relations Director
(315) 704-877
