April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month—a call to acknowledge experiences that are shaping lives, relationships, and workplaces every day. If you’re wondering what it looks like to show up with awareness and care this month, here are a few places to start.
Educate yourself.
Understanding sexual assault means listening to those who have lived it. Read a survivor memoir like Know My Name by Chanel Miller, or nonfiction like Missoula by Jon Krakauer or Is Rape a Crime? by Michelle Bowdler.
If books aren’t your thing, movies can also be a gateway to a deeper understanding. Spotlight is a great one. I recently watched Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and there are many others that explore the ripple effects of violence and the search for accountability.
Educate others.
Too often, people are uncomfortable talking about sexual assault, to all of our detriment. Share what you know, including the reality that, according to the CDC, more than 1 in 5 women and 1 in 31 men experience rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes. More than 4 in 5 female survivors were first assaulted before age 25, and nearly half before age 18.
In particular, talk with young men. Author Laurie Halse Anderson has spent decades doing just that. After writing Speak about the experience of a teen girl after a sexual assault, she found that boys would say, “‘I love the book, but I really didn’t get why she was so upset.’…. It became clear that teen boys don’t understand what rape is.” This article has some ideas on how to talk to them.
Support others.
Consider supporting organizations like RAINN or your local rape crisis center, whether through donations, volunteering, or amplifying their work.
And for the survivors in your life? Remember the power of listening. You don’t have to have the answers. Follow their lead. Ask what they need right now, and try to provide that. There is some great additional advice here.
Support yourself.
If this month is hard, you’re not alone. Trauma can have long-term and unpredictable effects. As much as possible, lean on reliable self-soothing tools like breathing and grounding exercises, return to healthy routines when you can, and remember that you have people in your life who care about you. The National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) is there if you need it. Check this out for more ideas.
Awareness, on its own, isn’t enough, but it’s a starting point. The goal isn’t to say the perfect thing or do everything at once. It’s to stay engaged, to keep learning, to keep having conversations that may feel uncomfortable, and to keep showing up with care, for survivors, for each other, and for ourselves.
4 Responses
Excellent message, thank you!
I’m so glad you thought so, Sarah!
Hello! Being a survivor of sexual assault, I really appreciate the fact that you’re putting it underneath of a light! It was something everyone feels should be hidden in the darkness. I do think more light should be put on it, especially for those victims and the families of the victims. Thank you so much for recommending the books in the movies! It’s a very hard thing to deal with on a day-to-day basis, but there is power and positivity in talking about it and opening up.
Thank you, Karen! I feel the same way–we know those statistics, and yet we act as though it’s a big secret that hardly anyone has experienced. I tried to recommend books and movies that are a little less triggering (I still have never made it through that Jodie Foster one), but I do think we need to be clear-eyed about reality. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience, and I wish you all the best.