On November 18, many students from all Arlington high schools attended the first Healthy Relationships Task Force meeting at Wakefield High School. The Healthy Relationship Task Force (HRT) is a coalition of high school students who meet to discuss sexual assault prevention and awareness in our local community and meeting monthly. The event was cosponsored by PAVE, an organization that is dedicated to “shattering the silence of sexual violence.” At the meeting, a nationally known survivor named Chessy Prout, a PAVE ambassador, came as a guest speaker to share her story with the task force.

The discussion was moderated by PAVE founder, and sexual assault survivor, Angela Rose. A senior now, Prout was assaulted by a fellow classmate in her freshman year of high school at St. Paul’s Prep School. Her case was one of the first to start a discussion about sexual assault and subsequent bullying in high schools. Prout started “#IHaveTheRightTo” initiative to continue the conversation about sexual assault.

While much of the conversation was difficult to listen to, the students who attended believed it was an important conversation to have. Previous campaigns by the Healthy Relationship Task Force include the “Consent is…” campaign that circulated through each high school last spring. Spreading awareness through movements and seminars is HRT’s main goal.

You can follow their Instagram account under @hrtarlington to keep updated on their activities and events.