On Monday Apr. 22, from 5-7pm, a portrait walk put on by Alpha Pi Omega Sorority Inc. in collaboration with Coral Avery will be taking place at the Asian Pacific Cultural Center at Oregon State University. This event will showcase portraits of women and impactful statistics to spread awareness of sexual assault. The portraits were taken by Coral Avery, an Oregon State University natural resources student and DAMchic photographer.

This collaboration was a way for Avery to use her photographic abilities to bring light to an issue she feels strongly about.

“The purpose of the event is to highlight the disparity of attacks on minority women including women of color and queer womxn, and bringing a voice to the voices that have been silenced,” Avery said, 

This event is being held during Sexual Assault Awareness Month to raise public awareness of sexual assault while educating communities on how to spot and prevent sexual violence.

By using portraits of real women who attend OSU, Avery and Alpha Pi Omega will be using faces alongside statistics to represent the severity of this systemic issue.

To represent the fact that sexual assault is prevalent in many cultures, Avery took photographs of a diverse group of volunteers, including Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander women. The faces of real people give a personal connection to something that is not openly talked about.

“This event is a really good opportunity for people who are marginalized, because not many Pacific Islanders are represented in this issue, I wanted to help with that representation,” Said Indiya Livingston, a model and second-year student

“This is putting faces to the facts, and it adds humanity to the statistics,” Abby Pasion, fifth-year liberal studies major, said. “It helps with letting others see the diversity of our campus, which is very important, especially for this topic.”