Zonta Club to hold ‘Men of Courage’ event to raise sexual-assault awareness

Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau will host a breakfast event Monday, May 6, that is open to all men and promotes unity toward efforts to end sexual assault and violence.

Edward Wilson

The event, titled "Men of Courage: Together We End Sexual Assault", is the first event of its kind being held in Cape Girardeau, and comes at the end of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.

Jessica Hill

“This event is really about men and women working together to end sexual assault. It’s an important step,” Jessica Hill, Safe House of Southeast Missouri executive director and Zonta Club president-elect, said in a news release. “Zonta wants to be able to share that message and give the community tools to help advocate for that change."

In addition to breakfast, the event will feature a keynote speech from Edward Wilson, who also goes by the name Obbie West. Wilson is a native of Los Angeles and a retired member of the U.S. Army. He is an international spoken-word artist and author, and is known for his activism in shifting the climate surrounding sexual assault and harassment in the military, on university campuses and in communities at large.

"Men are women’s strongest allies. Women can easily tell other women that assault is not OK, but when men tell other men, that is when real change happens," former Cape Girardeau police chief Rick Hetzel said in a news release. "I’m looking forward to the Men of Courage event and what Mr. Wilson has to share with the Cape Girardeau Community.”

"Men of Courage" is co-hosted by Safe House of Southeast Missouri, SEMO Network Against Sexual Violence, SEMO Suicide Prevention and Iota Chi. Financial assistance is being provided by the Office of Addictions, SEMO Department of Nursing.

Doors will open and breakfast will be served at 7 a.m., with the event beginning at 7:30 a.m. at Southeast Missouri State University’s University Center Ballroom. Tickets cost $10 per person and table reservations for eight are available for $100. To purchase tickets for the event, visit www.MenofCourage2024.eventbrite.com.