April is the Month to Recognize and Prevent Sexual Assault
- Filed under "public policy"
- Published Monday, April 24, 2017
- « back to articles
As you know, April is the month to recognize and prevent sexual assault.
According to the Iowa Department of Human Rights, an American is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds. Its definition is:
- Sexual assault is any sexual activity where consent is not given freely. This includes cases where the survivor is unable to give their consent freely. For example, if the survivor of the assault was intoxicated, they are unable to give their consent.
- Sexual assault also includes unwanted sexual contact and non-contact sexual experiences like verbal sexual harassment.
- Sexual assault can be committed by anyone—in fact, the perpetrator is often a friend, partner, family member, or acquaintance.
Here are clips from the Department’s April newsletter with more specifics and contact information for help.
Statistics about Sexual Assault
In the U.S, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced completed or attempted rape.
Most survivors experience sexual assault before the age of 25.
These numbers are based on reported cases of sexual assault.
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
(Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network)
(Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network)
Help in Iowa
You don’t have to go through this alone, there is help and support.
The Iowa hotline is available 24/7. Call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.
Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault (IowaCASA)
IowaCASA works with local member programs in Iowa that provide services directly to sexual assault survivors. They provide training, support and technical assistance for these statewide programs. For a list of all member programs visit this website.
Amani Community Services (ACS)
ACS works with African American survivors of sexual and/or domestic violence in Black Hawk and Linn counties. ACS provides counseling, outreach, personal advocacy, legal advocacy, children’s programming, information, and referrals.
24/7 Crisis Line: (888) 983-2533
This organization provides support services to Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf/Blind survivors and their families dealing with the trauma of domestic violence, sexual violence, teen dating violence, bullying, and/or stalking.
24/7 V/VP Crisis Line: (319) 531-7719
24/7 Text only: (515) 661-4015
email: help@diaaiowa.org
Latinas Unidas por un Nuevo Amanecer (LUNA)
LUNA helps Latina/o survivors of domestic violence and sexual violence. It provides crisis intervention in Polk, Warren, and Marshall counties.
24/7 Crisis Line: (888) 256-7668
Meskwaki Victim Services (MVS)
MVS serves Native American survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence and their families living on the Meskwaki settlement and throughout Iowa.
24/7 Crisis Line: (855) 840-7362 or (641) 481-0334
Monsoon United Asian Women of Iowa (MUAWI)
MUAWI serves victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual violence in Asian or Pacific Islander communities in Iowa. MUAWI serves all 99 counties in Iowa.
24/7 Crisis Line: (866) 881-4641
Transformative Healing works with the LGBTQIA and other marginalized sexual and gender identity survivors of sexual violence in Polk, Johnson, Story, and Linn counties.
24/7 Crisis Line: (515) 850-8081
Nisaa works with African immigrant and refugee survivors of domestic violence and sexual violence in Iowa.
24/7 Crisis Line: (515) 255-5430