Hello, I am Dr. Linda Degres, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.  April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Sexual violence is a significant public health problem, it can occur at anytime, to anyone, anywhere. In this country alone one in six women and one in thirty-three men report experiencing an attempted or completed rape at sometime in their lives.  
       Sexual violence can impact health in many ways and can result in serious long term health problems such as chronic pain, headaches, stomach problems, and sexually transmitted diseases. There are also emotional impacts; victims are often fearful and anxious, they may replay the attack over and over in their minds. They also may have problems with trust and be weary of relationships. The anger and the stress that victims feel may lead to eating disorders, depression, or thoughts or attempts of suicide. Sexual violence is also linked to negative health behaviors.  Victims of sexual violence are more likely to smoke, abuse alcohol, use drugs, and engage in risky sexual activity.  
       The goal of CDC’s Injury Center is to stop sexual violence before it starts.  Scientists are working hard to collect important data through our National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. This is the first comprehensive national survey on this topic in sixteen years.   The data collected will inform public policies and prevention strategies at the state and national levels. It will also guide CDC’s progress towards improving health and preventing injuries.  
       CDC is fortunate to have wonderful partners working with us to help prevent sexual violence. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center raises public awareness on this issue through collaboration, prevention efforts, and the distribution of resources.  Through our National Rape Prevention and Education or RPE Program and the Empower Program they support sexual violence prevention work in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 6 US territories. These partners are the frontline practitioners; the work they do will ultimately prevent people from perpetrating or becoming victims of sexual violence.  For example, the RPE program in Kentucky led the adaptation and implementation of Green Dot for high schools state wide.  The Green Dot approach highlights how each of us as bystanders can make a difference in our families and our communities.  A green dot is any behavior word or attitude that stops an epidemic of red dots, which are acts of violence from spreading on the map.  Green dots promote safety for the whole community and intolerance for sexual violence. Empower is now teaching New Jersey high school and college students about the Green Dot program.  
       It takes all of us working together to prevent violence; with your help we can create safer healthier lives for ourselves, our families, our communities, and our country.  So, I’m asking each of you to join me, CDC, our partners, and your community in working to prevent sexual violence.  It is my hope that you will use this opportunity to help us create a society, free of harassment, stalking, and rape. Together, we can foster a community ,a country, and a world where you and everyone you know speaks up, gets involved, and stops sexual violence before it begins.  We all have a role to play, its time to get involved.