Escape

20 Feb NYSCASA Honors Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week

Posted at 07:00h in news, Statements by

This week (February 20–26), NYSCASA will be sharing social media posts in honor of Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week (ASAW). ASAW is a week meant to spread awareness and acceptance of aromantic spectrum identities and the issues aromantic people face. ASAW generally occurs the first full week (starting Sunday) following Valentine’s Day; it began in large part as a way for those in the aromantic community who had difficulty finding space for their experiences in such a universally romanticized event to come together and celebrate their own unique experiences.

Aromanticism, one of the “As” in the LGBTQIA+ acronym, is an identity term for people who feel little to no romantic attraction. While some people feel no romantic attraction at all, some people feel it rarely, experience it only under certain conditions, have trouble distinguishing between romantic and other types of attraction, or have some other pattern of attraction that doesn’t fit within societal norms. There are many different terms for these different patterns of attraction but all fit under the broader term “aromantic spectrum.”

Many aromantic people experience sexual and relationship violence in their lifetime, often due to partner(s) invalidating or refusing to honor their identity. Aromantic survivors report that they’ve been pressured into sex, or experienced “corrective” sexual assault — and afterward, they still aren’t believed.

This week—and every week—NYSCASA proudly supports our aromantic community members. If you have experienced sexual abuse, harassment, or assault, we believe you and you are not alone.

Resources for Aromantic Survivors:

  • New York State Hotline for Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence: 1-800-942-6906
  • Anti-Violence Project 24/7 Hotline: 1-212-714-1141
  • In Our Own Voices: 1-518-432-4341 (Monday through Friday 9am-5pm)
  • Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy (AUREA): https://www.aromanticism.org
  • The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (TAAAP): https://taaap.org
  • Aces & Aros: https://acesandaros.org
  • Resources for Ace Survivors: https://asexualsurvivors.org (Note: This site specifically centers asexual survivors, but may be useful for aromantic survivors.)

Resources for Allies:

Allies can begin by learning about aromantic identities and the experiences of people in the aromantic community.