April is sexual assault awareness month

To the Editor:

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). SAAM became nationally recognized in 2001. This month is set aside to raise awareness that sexual violence impacts every person in every community. This goal is achieved through raising public awareness about sexual abuse, harassment, and assault and offering education about sexual assault to our community in schools, civic groups, and the agencies of allied professionals.

This year’s SAAM campaign, Together We Act, United We Change, focuses on the power of working together as a community to create safer, more respectful environments for all. We can work towards this by enhancing public understanding of sexual violence, amplifying the voices of survivors, and promoting the well-being of others. We deserve to live in safe and supportive environments where we are all treated with respect. When our workplaces, schools, and communities work together to uphold safety and respect, we make progress in preventing sexual abuse, assault, and harassment.

What can we do? As representatives of our families, schools, civic groups, and community, we can be engaged bystanders. We can intervene before, during, or after a situation when we see or hear behaviors that harass or otherwise encourage sexual violence. When we witness sexist jokes, innuendos, catcalling, and vulgar gestures in real life or online, recognize the harm to the person experiencing them. Although it may not be safe or practical to confront someone participating in these behaviors all of the time, speak out against sexual violence when appropriate to do so. Alternative actions could be to create a disruption to interrupt the behavior or support the person being harassed in private. Every situation is different and there is no one way to respond.

The Abuse Network would like to thank the communities we serve for your participation in SAAM and to thank our partners in service. Thank you for showing that you support survivors of sexual abuse, harassment, and assault and for the work you do.

Rebecca Wills

The Abuse Network