Sexual Assault Awareness Month is an annual campaign to raise awareness about sexual assault and educate people on how to prevent sexual violence. Sexual Violence is a public health issue as well as a social justice and human rights issue. This year the main slogans are embrace your voice, everyday consent, healthy communications with kids, and understanding sexual violence. For information on how to become involved in Sexual Assault Awareness Month, visit https://www.nsvrc.org/saam

Sexual assault has gained much more attention worldwide with the recent #metoo movement. Women are starting to speak up as survivors and sharing their stories. In the past, sexual assault was not something people would openly discuss as victims were ashamed. The idea used to elicit negative connotations of stigma. Sexual Assault is a topic that affects every gender, race, and social class. It affects males and females across the globe. These are your mothers, fathers, sisters, daughters, son or lovers questioning their own identity and learning to cope with something they never asked for.

What is sexual assault?

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes sexual violence as "any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting. It includes rape, defined as the physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration of the vulva or anus with a penis, other body part or object."

The real facts:

Global estimates published by WHO indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

- RAINN reports that every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted.

- 42% of college women who are raped tell no one about the assault.

- 40% of rape survivors develop sexually transmitted diseases as a result of sexual assault.

- Rape survivors are 13 times more likely to attempt suicide than are people who have not          been victims of a crime.

- In the UK approximately 11 rapes occur every hour.

- The 2006–07 Crime Survey for England and Wales (formerly the British Crime Survey) reports that 1 in every 200 women were raped in that period. It also showed that only 800 people were convicted of rape crimes that same year, meaning that less than 1 in every 100 occurrences of rape led to a conviction. 

Every person affected by sexual assault deserves to tell their story, to be heard, and to be believed. Studies tell us that that the majority of sexual perpetrators are serial perpetrators. So if you have been sexually assaulted, the likelihood is, that perpetrator will offend again. So reporting your assault to the police/authorities is important. Always remember, you can move on and not let this define you. The longer your story stays deep inside you and bottled up the more anger and rage you hold inside yourself. Do what you need to do to let that rage out and do not take it out on yourself. This is not your fault. Maybe you need to run until you can’t even run anymore, maybe you need to write, cry, dance, scream at the top of your lungs. Let yourself feel that emotion and hurt. Grieve. You are not dirty. You are not worthless. You are not unlovable. You don’t need to feel ashamed. This was not your fault. You didn’t do anything to deserve this.  You are not a victim. You are a survivor. There is nothing more inspirational than people empowering other people.  

Resources:

In the UK: https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/

In the US: https://www.rainn.org/about-national-sexual-assault-telephone-hotline

#SexualAssaultAwarnessMonth #MeToo #EmbraceYourVoice #EverydayConsent #HealthyCommunicationsWithKids #UnderstandingSexualViolence

By Chloe Silver BSc. (Hons.)  https://www.instagram.com/chloeasilver/

© 2018 Chloe Silver

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