Images courtesy of Long Beach Hospitality Alliance.

#SafetyTogether, an educational campaign raising awareness of sexual assault and sexual violence prevention in Long Beach, was launched this week by local leaders within the hospitality industry, alongside other members of the community during National Sexual Assault Awareness month.

“National Sexual Assault Awareness Month is an important time to raise awareness of sexual assault, prevent sexual violence and support survivors,” Kenya Bannister, general manager of the Courtyard Marriott and Long Beach Hospitality Alliance member said in a statement. “That is why the Alliance is launching the #SafetyTogether campaign to bring together the hospitality and business community to raise awareness and improve safety.”

In April #SafetyTogether campaign members will focus on educating employees and customers on the resources available to report assault, support survivors and prevent sexual violence in person and through social media channels, according to the announcement.

The campaign was launched by the Long Beach Hospitality Alliance, a business council of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, and is supported by Downtown Long Beach Alliance, Force Training Institute, and WomenShelter of Long Beach.

Campaign members are also educating the community about safety features available within their organizations. The Hospitality Alliance presented a safety report to the Long Beach City Council last week, which discussed personal safety device trainings and protocols that hotels in the Long Beach community have implemented.

The campaign comes seven months after labor advocates attempted to persuade the Long Beach City Council to create an ordinance aimed at protecting hotel workers from sexual assault. Now these same advocates are working to bring a similar measure before the voters later this year.

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On April 25, #SafetyTogether will promote National Denim Day, an international rape prevention education campaign, by encouraging employees to wear jeans to raise awareness of the misconceptions surrounding sexual assault.

Check out the Long Beach Hospitality Alliance on Facebook for updates and more information.