Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), a month recognizing the impact of sexual trauma, assault, and harassment against survivors. In 2009, President Barack Obama officially declare April National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. CMHC encourages everyone to reflect on SAAM, seek support if needed, and/or provide support to other survivors with resources provided below. We also urge you to take a few minutes to reflect on a few statistics below.

Statistics:

· Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.1

· On average, there are 463,634 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year in the United States.1

· 21% of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming) college students have been sexually assaulted, compared to 18% of cisgender woman and 4% of cisgender men.2

· As of 1998, 2.78 million men in the U.S. had been survivors of attempted or completed rape.3

· As of 1998, an estimated 17.7 million American women had been survivors of attempted or completed rape.3

· On average, Native Americans ages 12 and older experience 5,900 sexual assaults per year. Native Americans are twice as likely to experience a rape/sexual assault compared to all races.4

· 6,053 military members reported experiencing sexual assault during military service in FY 2018. DoD estimates about 20,500 service members experienced sexual assault that year.5

Helpful Resources:

• RAINN: https://www.rainn.org/national-resources-sexual-assault-survivors-and-their-loved-ones

• No More: https://nomore.org/campaigns/sexual-assault-awareness-month/

• 1 in 6: 1in6.org

• Department of Justice: Office on Violence Against Women

• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/SAAM/index.asp

• Taking Back Ourselves: https://takingbackourselves.org/

• Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women: https://www.csvanw.org/2021-sexual-assault-awareness-month-saam-believe-survivors/

Studies to Reference:

1. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2020). National Crime Victimization Survey, 2019. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv19.pdf

2. Cantor, D., Fisher, B., Chibnall, S. H., Townsend, R., Lee, H., Thomas, G., ... & Westat, Inc. (2015). Report on the AAU campus climate survey on sexual assault and sexual misconduct.

3. National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. (1998). Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women Survey.

4. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2004) American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002.

5. Department of Defense. (2020). Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military. https://www.sapr.mil/sites/default/files1_Department_of_Defense_Fiscal_Year_2019_Annual_Report_on_Sexual_Assault_in_the_Military.pdf