It seems like you cannot open a newspaper these days without reading about yet another instance of sexual assault. The latest example? In the past two months, four young women, some of them deaf and disabled, have suffered brutal rapes in the Foss Park neighborhood of Somerville.

This spate of attacks, as well as those in Allston-Brighton, Brookline, and the North End over the past summer, have alarmed residents, anti-violence advocates, and law-enforcement officials alike. At the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC), volunteers have fielded request after request for basic information about rape. Ever since sexual assault began dominating the headlines, says BARCC public-education coordinator Sarah Dawgert, " we have received more requests to simply get the word out about sexual violence. "

To this end, Dawgert and her BARCC colleagues have organized a Town Meeting on Sexual Assault, which will take place this Saturday, December 7 on the Northeastern University campus. Its purpose is twofold: to raise awareness about the realities of rape, and to encourage people to put a stop to it. Unlike typical town meetings, where politicians sound off on various issues, this event is intended to be what Dawgert calls " a community conversation " about the assaults. Everyday people, she says, " need to have a venue to express their thoughts and concerns. "

Advocates hope to spend the day drawing attention to some hard, cold facts: how someone becomes a rape victim every two minutes in the US; how one in four American women and one in 12 American men will become a rape victim; how only 16 out of 100 victims ever report their experiences to police; and how embarrassment and shame are the primary reasons victims remain silent. These realities, Dawgert asserts, have to be confronted in order to curb sexual violence in this country.

" These are not just statistics, " she adds. " They are people. They are mothers, sisters, brothers, neighbors, and friends. Rape happens all the time, every day, in every community. It affects all of us. "

The BARCC Town Meeting on Sexual Assault will take place Saturday, December 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Behrakis Health Science Center at Northeastern University. The event is free. Call (617) 492-8306 or visit www.barcc.org