The month of April has been designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) in the United States. The goal of SAAM is to raise public awareness about sexual violence and to educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence. By working together and pooling our resources during the month of April, we can highlight sexual violence as a major public health, human rights, and social justice issue and reinforce the need for prevention efforts.
SEXUAL ASSAULT FACTS
Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape. It can happen to anyone – regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or ability.
NATIONAL
Every 107 seconds, another U.S. resident is sexually assaulted. Each year, there are about 293,066 victims (age 12 or older) of sexual assault.? It is estimated that 1 of every 6 U.S. women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. 1 in 33 U.S. men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. The annual economic impact of sexual violence is estimated to be $127 billion. Each rape costs $151,423 in direct and hidden costs to survivors and the community.
STATE
During 2014, the 15 sexual assault centers in South Carolina served 5,513 new direct victims/survivors of sexual assault, responded to 3,820 hotline calls, and accompanied 1,274 survivors to the hospital. Sexual Assault can also occur within a pattern of abuse in a relationship. During 2014, there were 1,167 cases of sexual assault reported within the context of domestic violence.
PEE DEE REGION
In FY14, Pee Dee Coalition assisted 281 sexual assault victim/survivors and answered 311 crisis line calls related to sexual assault. During the same period, Pee Dee Coalition provided prevention education to 2,097 middle, high school, and college students across the region and reached 10,809 citizens through community education presentations.
SOURCES:
1. U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey
2. RAINN.org/get-information/statistics
3. nsvrc.org
4. SCCADVASA, 2015
