April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (“SAAM”), a time when we raise public awareness about sexual assault and discuss ways to prevent sexual violence.
Sexual violence is a significant problem. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that “over half of women and almost one in three men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes.” Approximately one in four women have experienced a rape or attempted rape, and of female rape survivors, more than four in five were first raped before they were 25 years old. Moreover, one in nine men were forced to penetrate someone during his lifetime, and of those, four in ten were minors at the time.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, “This year’s SAAM campaign theme, Building Connected Communities, calls on each of us to work together to prevent sexual abuse, harassment, and assault . . . . [W]hen anyone experiences sexual violence, every community member is affected.” Indeed, these issues affect people of all ages, of all genders and sexual orientations, of all ethnicities, of all faiths, and from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
This theme feels especially timely given how divisive our country has become and how isolated so many people feel. The message around 2024’s SAAM marks an effort to bring us together over this important issue.
Decades of Activism Leads to SAAM
We’ve recognized SAAM every April for the past 23 years—since 2001. But attempts to reform how sexual assault is viewed and addressed began long before then.
Efforts to prevent sexual assault in the United States began during the civil rights movement and activism continued into the 1970s, when San Francisco opened the first rape crisis center and several years later hosted the first Take Back the Night event. In 1994, Congress, recognizing the severity of the harms caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, passed the Violence Against Women Act. VAWA was the first federal law requiring law enforcement to treat gender-based violence as a crime. According to a TIME article, “Lawyers who helped to draft the bill say that part of the reason the legislation has been so successful is that it has helped to create a profound cultural change, and has encouraged Americans to take gender-based violence seriously.”
Six years later, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and the Center for Disease Control created the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and the following year, the NSVRC launched the first SAAM campaign.
Connected Communities Matter
The NSVRC released a 2024 SAAM proclamation, which states, “we must strive to create strong, connected communities that take care of one another and make decisions to ensure the safety and well-being of others to end sexual violence.”
When people are connected and communities care, victims are more likely to feel safe disclosing abuse, robust supportive services will be developed, justice will be demanded, and perpetrators will be held accountable. But beyond this, informed communities can work to prevent sexual assaults from happening in the first place. For instance, organizations can teach young people about consent and healthy relationships. We can learn about sexual privacy and how to stay safe online. We can promote social norms, especially amongst boys and men, that protect against sexual violence. And organizations can craft thoughtful workplace policies.
At ALM Law, we firmly believe in the importance of engaging with the community. This means getting involved with local nonprofits, such as Response Aspen; collaborating with other advocates, such as New York City’s Cyber Abuse Task Force and Colorado’s Women’s Trial Lawyers Network; and genuinely connecting with humans over shared or potentially new interests.
By connecting and building strong communities, we can learn from one another and grow together into a healthier, happier, and safer place. Building connected communities also honors survivors and sends a message that we see them, hear them, and will support them.