Sunday, April 05, 2009

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness month (SAAM)

We should all be telling out local news media, law enforcement and schools about this important topic.

Here are some statistics I found at the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (www.rainn.org/statistics)

1 in 6 women is the victim of sexual assault as is 1 in 33 men.
44% of rape victims are minors
15% are under 12
29% are between the ages of 12 and 17
73% of victims know their attacker
60% of sexual assaults are NOT reported to the police

Here are other sources of information on this important topic:

National Sexual Assault Violence Resource Center (www.nsvrc.org)
National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center (www.safeyouth.org)
US Dept of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (www.ovw.usdoj.gov)

The Office on Violence Against Women also has a poster you can download or print out to post in your workplace, school, library or other appropriate venue,
www.ovw.usdoj.gov/docs/saawarenessmonthposter.pdf