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April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
To the editor:
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This year's theme is "Building Safe Online Spaces Together." Sexual harassment, assault and abuse can happen anywhere, including in online spaces. For too long harassment, cyberbullying and sexual abuse and exploitation have come to be expected as typical and unavoidable behaviors online. Building Safe Online Spaces Together is possible when we practice digital consent, intervene when we see harmful content and behaviors, and promote online communities that value respect, inclusion and safety.
Statistics show one in four girls and one in six boys will be victims of sexual abuse, while one in five women and one in 67 men will experience rape at some point in their lives. Sexual violence effects everyone in this community.
Internet safety is more important than ever with work, school, and social interactions occurring primarily online since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixty-one percent of sexters that have sent nude pictures say they were pressured to do it on at least one occasion. Whether you're online or offline, connect with respect and obtain consent. Electronic consent is sexual consent that happens through technology. Ask permission before sharing explicit images and videos. If someone says no after asking for electronic consent, accept their answer and move on. Lastly, obtain electronic consent every time. Just because someone says yes once, does not mean they are obligated to say yes again.
Get engaged this April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Join us in embracing your role as we build safe online spaces together. Learn more about how you can use your voice to interrupt sexual violence online, please visit www.nsvrc.org/saam.
Rebecca Wills
Lewistown