In the U.S. April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. This dates back to protests by women in England in the early 1970s, who began the first Take Back the Night marches, because they were sick of the violence they experienced walking the streets at night. The movement to end rape culture via protests and marches spread to other countries. In 1978, New York City and San Francisco held the first Take Back the Night events in the U.S. Fast Forward to 2016 and now there are Take Back the Night events and protests to end rape culture across the world. My personal favorite form of protests to end rape culture are called “SlutWalks”. “SlutWalk” is a transnational movement of protest marches calling for an end to rape culture. Specifically, participants protest against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance. The news media, court trials and law officials often use the justification of “she was asking for it”. This refers to the victim’s clothing in order to dismiss the accusation of rape. SlutWalk’s work to end this myth about rape by helping women reclaim autonomy over their bodies and the world “slut”.
Rape and sexual violence are very serious public health problems that affect people of all genders worldwide. On the homepage of the Take Back the Night site, it states that: “Approximately 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 6 men worldwide experience some form of sexual violence, and less than 50 percent of victims report these crimes.” The statistics increae when you focus on minorities. Such as Trans* people in the LGBTQIA+ community.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) In the United States, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 59 men have been raped in their lifetime. Most victims first experienced sexual violence before the age of 25. However, the known statistics are actually off because rape and sexual violence, especially intimate partner violence (IVP). They are often under-reported because of the stigma and shame that victims experience.
Sexual violence affects every demographic and every community. We must not forget about minorities and marginalized people in the conversation about rape and sexual violence. While 80% of rapes are reported by white women, minority women are more likely to be victims of rape and sexual violence. However, for minority women, there are increased barriers in terms of reporting. Also, members of the LGBTQIA+ community experience sexual violence at similar or higher rates than heterosexuals (CDC). The LBGTQIA+ community faces higher rates of hate-motivated violence, which can often take the form of sexual assault. Society both hypersexualizes LGBTQ people and stigmatizes their relationships, this can lead to intimate partner violence, which stems from internalized homophobia and shame.
During the month of April I encourage survivors and supporters to volunteer at their local rape crisis center. Use #RAINN and #SAAM to join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook. I will be participating in the Instagram challenge below.
Resources:
National Sexual Assault Hotline:
1-800-656-HOPE (4673) open 24/7
Bilingual Hotline:
212-714-1124 open 24/7
The Anti-Violence Project– serves people who are LGBTQ
