Let’s talk about sexual violence for a few minutes. No, really—let’s talk about it. Sexual assault is one of the most destructive, debilitating crimes that one can endure. Frequently, secrecy, abuse of trust, and the sense of shame it creates in victims are used to keep people silent. These factors also reinforce the strong pull to not discuss sexual crimes in general.
On top of that, victims often experience genuine fear of being blamed, shamed, thought of differently, or defined by these events. This, in turn, perpetuates the silence and drastically decreases the number of sexual assault incidents brought to justice: statistically, fewer than 1/3 of sexual assaults are reported to police, less than 6 percent lead to an arrest, and only 0.7% result in a conviction. When people witness sexual assault or have an incident disclosed to them, the pull to remain silent is often just as strong. It is such a heinous topic—actual sexual assault incidents are overwhelmingly distressing to bear witness to, which leads people to hide from the truth or act like the victim has in some way caused the problem.
So while we are all avoiding the topic, hundreds of thousands of people—just like you and me—are struggling to cope with and heal from their experiences. How super cool would it be for survivors to feel they don’t have to hide, to feel that society will embrace them without judging them, and to feel they will be seen for the totality of who they are and not what has happened to them?
Eighty one percent of women and almost half of men nationwide have experienced some form of sexual assault or harassment. More than 734 thousand people were raped in the united states in 2018, and more than half of women who have been raped one-time report having been raped more than one time. These are giant numbers. If you’ve experienced sexual assault, you are less alone than you think. And if you haven’t experienced it, this is your opportunity to recognize the depth and breadth of this problem. With something so destructive and so prevalent, we need to be proactive to change the tide.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Let’s talk about the reality of sexual assault. Let’s look for ways to help survivors feel seen and heard. Let’s stop being quiet and letting predators move from victim to victim. Let’s make sexual assault a topic we can talk about, report, work against, and eliminate!
Here are some ways you can get involved:
Upcoming SAAM events:
April 1st – Day of Action. Wear teal to represent your support of SAAM and share with people the reason for teal!
April 24th – Denim Day. Deck yourself out in denim to show your support for survivors of sexual assault and raise awareness about the reality of sexual violence.
Resources for helping yourself, loved ones, or for getting involved:
National Sexual Assault Hotline https://rainn.org/get-help
RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) https://rainn.org/about-rainn
https://www.nsvrc.org/
A Guide for Friends and Family of Sexual Violence Survivors (PDF)
Citation
https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/statistics-sexual-violence/ Accessed March 2025.
https://www.uml.edu/news/stories/2019/sexual_assault_research.aspx Accessed March 2025.
https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics Accessed March 2025
Kearl, H. (2018). The facts behind the #metoo movement: A national study on sexual harassment and assault. Stop Street Harassment.
Smith, S. G., Zhang, X., Basile, K. C., Merrick, M. T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M., & Chen, J. (2018). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 data brief – updated release. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
