April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month 

Sexual Assault Awareness Month calls attention to the fact that sexual violence is widespread and impacts every person in this community.

Rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment impact our community, and statistics show one in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives (Black et al., 2011). 

Child sexual abuse prevention must be a priority to confront the reality that one in six boys and one in four girls will experience a sexual assault before the age 18 (Dube et al., 2005).

Young people experience heightened rates of sexual violence, and youth ages 12-17 were 2.5 times as likely to be victims of rape or sexual assault (Snyder & Sickmund, 2006).

On campus one in five women and one in sixteen men are sexually assaulted (Krebs, Lindquist, Warner, Fisher, & Martin, 2007).

We must work together to educate our community about sexual violence prevention, supporting survivors, and speaking out against harmful attitudes and actions.

When we all play a role we can prevent sexual violence. The first step is increasing education, awareness, and community involvement. It’s time for all of us to take action to create a safer environment for all. 

I join advocates and communities across the country in playing an active role to prevent sexual violence. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and each day of the year is an opportunity to create change for the future. 


Black, M. C., Breiding, M. J., Smith, S. G., Walters, M. L., Merrick, M. T., Chen, J., & Stevens, M. R. (2011). National intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2010 summary report. Retrieved from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control,: http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_Report2010-a.pdf

Dube, S. R., Anda, R. F., Whitfield, C.L., Brown, D. L., Felitti, V. J., Dong, M., & Giles, W. H. (2005). Long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse by gender of victim. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28, 430–438. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2005.01.015

Krebs, C. P., Lindquist, C. H., Warner, T. D., Fisher, V. S., & Martin, S. L. (2007) The Campus Sexual Assault (CSA) Study (NCJ 221153).  Retrieved from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/221153.pdf 

Snyder, Howard N., and Sickmund, Melissa. 2006. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/olo/reports/pdf/Serious_Incident_Report/4.pdf