Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Many people may not have known this, but April is Sexual Assault Awareness month. Which begs the question: why do we need an entire month designated to raising awareness for sexual assault? Let me give you some statistics. According to the Joyful Heart Foundation, an organization committed to putting an end to sexual assault and domestic abuse, on average per year, one in five women and one in 71 men will be raped in the United States alone; that’s about 22 million women and 1.6 million men. Using Bureau of Justice Statistics, Safe Horizon, a resource dedicated to the protection of victims of abuse of any kind, found that in 2010 alone there were188,380 reports or rape and/or sexual assault; about 182,000 were reported by women, while about 40,000 were reported by men. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) reports that 68% of all sexual assaults are not reported to the police; this is most likely due to a pattern of victim-blaming and straight-out dismissal of victims that has permeated our society as a part of a growing rape culture.

    Sexual assault and rape are never the fault of the victim; when a person says that they have been raped or attacked in any sexual manner, you do not question them as if they were a suspect. What a woman is wearing does not have any bearing or influence on whether or not a man is going to try and rape her; modest clothing didn’t prevent rape from happening hundreds of years ago, so why should that make a difference here in the 21st century? And for a matter of fact, the vast majority of sexual assaults and rapes that are committed against women are committed by somebody close to them: a friend, a family member, an acquaintance, a spouse, or a boyfriend or girlfriend.

    I suppose the real question is: if rape and sexual assault are such pervasive issues in not only our society, but around the globe, why isn’t there more of an awareness of it every single day, rather than for just one month out of the year? Stand up, speak out, do something, and make a difference. Rape and sexual assault are traumas that are not only physically damaging, but can have a lasting mental and psychological effect upon a person as well. They can instill feelings of constant fear, shame, and guilt in people who have been victims, and can have other lasting effects on a person’s life, including depression and suicidal feelings.

    If you or someone that you know has been a victim, don’t stay quiet; reach out and talk to someone. Visit the website of the Joyful Heart Foundation or Safe Horizon, or call any one of the following:  the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1.800.422.4453; the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1.800.799.7233; the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network at 1.800.656.4673; the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline at 1.866.331.9474; or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1.800.273.8255.