Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Proclamation
April 2022

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month — a time to draw attention to the prevalence of sexual assault and educate individuals and communities about how to prevent it. Sexual harassment, abuse, and assault are widespread problems. In the United States alone, nearly one in five women and one in 67 men have been raped at some time in their lives (Smith et al., 2017), and one in four girls and one in twenty boys is sexually abused by the age of 17 (Finkelhor et al., 2014).

Sexual harassment, assault, and abuse can happen anywhere, including in online spaces. Now more than ever, screens and technology connect us with others — but for too long, harassment, cyberbullying, and sexual abuse have been seen as unavoidable behaviors online.

Each of us has the power to change that. Together, we can make a difference to build inclusive, safe, and respectful communities that thrive online and offline.

2022 marks the twenty-first anniversary of SAAM, and the theme of this year’s campaign is “Building Safe Online Spaces Together.” We can build online communities free from sexual harassment, abuse, and assault by practicing digital consent, intervening when we see harmful behaviors, and promoting online communities that value inclusion, safety, and respect.

I join advocates and communities across the country in proclaiming that we can build
safe online spaces together.

Name
Date

Finkelhor, D., Shattuck, A., Turner, H.A., & Hamby, S.L. (2014) The lifetime prevalence of child sexual abuse and sexual assault assessed in late adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 5, 329-333.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.12.026

Smith, S. G., Chen, J., Basile, K. C., Gilbert, L. K., Merrick, M. T., Patel, N., Walling, M., & Jain, A. (2017). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010-2012 state report. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/NISVS-StateReportBook.pdf

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