Raising awareness through denim
This month Crisis Prevention and Response Center is reminding people that April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.
During the April Community Resources Month, Ruth Dugger of CPRC presented some statistics from RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). Per its website, “RAINN is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE, online.rainn.org y rainn.org/es) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense.”
According to RAINN, every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted and every nine minutes that victim is a child . One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime and about 3% of American men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. A majority of child victims are 12 to 17.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, this year’s theme for Sexual Assault Awareness Month is “Together We Act, United We Change.”
DENIM DAY
Dugger encouraged everyone to participate in Denim Day, April 30, organized nationally by Peace Over Violence.
According to denimday.org, “Since 1999, Peace Over Violence has run an inspiring and powerful campaign to practice solidarity and support survivors by renewing our commitment to exposing harmful behaviors and attitudes surrounding sexual violence. Denim Day is recognized on a Wednesday in April in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The campaign began after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court to overturn a rape conviction because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped the person who raped her remove them, thereby implying consent. Following the reversal, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim.”
Peace Over Violence developed the Denim Day campaign in response to this case and the activism surrounding it. Since then, what started as a local event to bring awareness to victim blaming and destructive myths that surround sexual violence has grown into a worldwide movement.
As the longest-running sexual violence prevention and education campaign in history, Denim Day asks community members, elected officials, businesses and students to make a social statement with their fashion statement by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual violence.
I have written about Sexual Abuse Awareness Month but I feel it important, as do the above organizations and many others, that we recognize and raise awareness every year, every month and every day.
Observing Sexual Assault Awareness Month every year ensures that the victims are not forgotten and that the conversation, education and hopefully prevention will continue.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, abused or harassed call law enforcement (911), Crisis Prevention and Response Center (347-4991) or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4073).
And remember, you are not to blame, the only person to blame for a sexual assault or abuse is the offender, never the victim.
See you in Denim April 30.