CEO Update 4.1.21

Regardless of the circumstances, sexual assault is NEVER your fault

April is a month when we are never quite sure what to expect in Idaho. It can be warm and summery one day and cold and dark the next. However, as the saying goes, with April showers come May flowers. Like many of you, I am looking forward to spending time in my garden pruning roses, planting seeds and hoping for growth and success as I cultivate with care. And with the metaphor of new growth, rebirth and healing, this is a perfect topic on which to focus this month.

You see, April is both Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Month. Statistically, a sexual assault occurs every 73 seconds in the U.S. And every nine minutes, that victim is a child. In Idaho, there is a rape completed every 13.8 hours. This is an age-old issue that continues to impact women, men and people of all gender identities and all ages across the globe. It’s an issue that not only demands attention, it deserves action.

Here are five things you can do to create change:

• Join the National Sexual Violence Resource Center in their SAAM campaign to Build Safe Spaces Online: Keeping Kids Safe Online, Digital Consent, Boundaries and Everyday Consent Online, Online Community Prevention, Online Trauma and Abuse
• On Wednesday April 28, 2021, the WCA needs your participation in Denim Day, a global sexual assault and victim blaming awareness campaign. Wear denim on Wednesday April 28, 2021. Denim not acceptable at work? No problem! Order your WCA Denim Day campaign materials here!
• Register to attend one of our virtual educational events during April:

April  8, Never Your Fault
April 14, Break the Cycle 
April 21, Never Your Fault
April 22, Talk to Your Teen
April 29, Break the Cycle

• Follow us on social media during SAAM and like, comment and share. Help us engage others in the conversation that sexual assault is #NeverYourFault
• Start a conversation about sexual assault and victim blaming with your co-workers, family members and friends. The change starts with you. Visit rainn.org or preventchildabuse.org for more information.

Like the sunshine and rain help nurture our plants and trees so they may grow, awareness and support can do the same for individuals recovering from the trauma of abuse and assault.

Be a part of the change.

With gratitude,

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