A seminar focusing on sexual assault awareness was held on Thursday at the Glendale Youth Center. The seminar, hosted by Armenians and Progressive Politics, featured Detective Christopher Clay from the Glendale Police Department Violent Crimes-Sexual Assault unit and Dr. Ani Karayan, Ph.D., clinical psychologist.

“Our goal with this event was to bring attention to the realities of what sexual assault looks like in the age of social media,” said Alik Ourfalian, one of the organizers of the event. “By starting this conversation in our communities, we aim to raise awareness about what sexual assault is, how to prevent it, and how to support survivors who hav experienced it.”

Detective Clay began the evening by shedding light on the realities of online communications. He stressed the potential of victimization of unsuspecting adolescents on online platforms and urged parents to remain vigilant and monitor their children’s online activity. Dr. Karayan then covered the potential consequences on victims’ mental health, as well as how parents can approach such subjects with their children and the available resources they can turn to. With most in attendance being parents of teenagers, the speakers answered numerous questions from the attendees. 

The sentiment among those in attendance was that conversations of sexual assault awareness and prevention are crucial in our communities. Attendees urged the organizers and speakers to host subsequent events around the topic so that such discussions can be widespread in our communities.