April sheds light on Sexual Assault Awareness, need for cultural change

As March fades into April and winter turns to spring, awareness shifts its focus to an underrepresented but vitally important recognition: Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The month of April was nationally deemed Sexual Assault Awareness month in 2001, following an extremely influential protest in London, England in 1975. The protest was organized by a group of women who gathered for the first official “Take Back Night,” a march against sexual violence women experienced after sundown. This quickly gained international support and just three years later, two US states held their own “Take Back Nights.”  This eventually extended to include men, and the National Coalition Against Sexual Violence began to encourage that each state partake in activities during what eventually became Sexual Assault Awareness Week.

The week was extended to a month, becoming a campaign which seeks to recognize a myriad of issues surrounding sexual violence. Not only is the month intended to bring awareness, but also to empower survivors to share their stories and remind them that they are not alone.

In fact, survivors of sexual assault are far from alone, as it has been reported by the Department of Justice that an American experiences sexual assault every 68 seconds. On a global scale, the North Coast Rape Crisis Team asserts that one in every three women around the world have been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. These are shocking numbers, which is why education on the topic of sexual assault is so important.

This is especially dire in a time when government officials are trying to “ban” certain reading materials and topics from classrooms. Following such book bans, which primarily began in 2021, PEN America found that over a quarter of banned books contained scenes of rape or sexual assault. One of these books includes The Nowhere Girls, which challenges rape culture and misogyny while its characters avenge a peer who was raped. While one may argue these books could be triggering to some of their readership, for some, they’re the only way for minors to learn about sexual assault. It’s a topic which is already so highly avoided within America’s education system, so to eradicate that outlet isn’t doing any good. Books aren’t harmful, censorship is.

Furthermore, this censorship is continued throughout classroom sex education. In Oklahoma, a bill was advanced which removes the requirement that students be taught about consent. This bill leaves less than 20% of US States that require consent education, which is especially appalling considering the high rates of sexual assault in this country.

Many also tend to think that sexual abuse is something that only happens in later years of life. However, the North Coast Rape Crisis team estimates that one in four girls and one in seven boys will have experienced some sort of sexual violence by the time they turn 18. Some of this involves child-on-child sexual abuse, a topic rarely spoken of. This form of abuse, which is commonly referred to as “COCSA,” presents additional challenges being so underrepresented. Especially when not having received proper consent and sex education, children experiencing COCSA don’t always register that what’s happening is abuse. This is furthered as it’s often being perpetrated by someone trusted. Pre-existing trust with the abuser goes for much sexual assault, as approximately 80-85% of completed rapes are committed by someone who is known to the victim, as stated by the North Coast Rape Crisis Team. This is why it’s so imperative that everyone is educated on signs of sexual assault and what it can look like. 

What’s just as alarming as all of this is the fact that social media presents negative prospects for the future of rape culture, as it normalizes victim blaming and slut shaming, all of which then become desensitized. It has become all too common for men to make comments about women’s genitalia on completely unrelated posts, or even make threats regarding rape. Regardless of whether or not they’re “just making a joke,” these remarks can have serious repercussions on the mental health of those on the receiving end. Furthermore, only 2.5% of rapists will be convicted and sent to prison according to the non-profit RAINN -- a statistic which will only worsen if we continue to normalize such gross behavior. 

Men are at the receiving end of such comments as well, and it’s especially concerning how many people simply brush off their experiences. When speaking up, men are often met with comments about how they “should feel lucky.” Comments like these are similar to those women receive, so it’s disheartening to see how underrepresented men’s experiences and mental health is. Despite the invalidation men often face, researchers have found that at least 1 in 6 men have experienced sexual abuse or assault whether in childhood or as adults, according to 1in6.org. In America specifically, roughly 3% of American men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime, which put in perspective is nearly 5 million men -- an astronomically high number, especially considering how many people say that sexual assault ‘doesn’t happen’ to men.

False stereotypes regarding rape can likely be attributed to society’s inherent tendency to victim blame, as survivors often face scrutiny when speaking out. Victims should never feel they need to stay silent; society needs to reframe how they approach the topic.

It’s important to recognize the physical, emotional, and behavioral signs of someone that has experienced sexual abuse. Emotional signs specifically often go unnoticed, as many automatically assume sudden mood and personality changes are merely from the stresses of everyday life. While this can be true, there are often underlying problems that cause such symptoms, one of which could be sexual assault. Knowing behavioral signs can also help to determine the cause of emotional changes and help to identify abuse. These signs can present as fear of certain people or places, fear of going to sleep, and using new words for genitalia (specifically if it’s a child) to name a few.

For being such an unfortunately common occurrence, it’s disheartening that the media doesn’t utilize the month of April to bring attention to the topic and provide resources for those affected. Regardless of the media masking the month, survivors are not alone in their experiences, and there are a number of resources available for sexual abuse survivors, including RAINN, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and the national sexual assault hotline.

by Emma Toney

Published April 29 2024

Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue VII