April is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Currently, the Division on Women (DOW) supports statewide community-level primary prevention efforts to prevent sexual violence. To advance these efforts, we work with non-traditional partners and consider them as experts in their own lives and community pillars for change. We believe that impactful primary prevention efforts begin with community engagement and providing tools to communities so they can empower themselves. As such, our SAAM theme this year is:
Thriving Communities: Building Connections & Raising Voices on the Margins
Sexual violence impacts everyone, but disproportionately affects people in marginalized communities. Factors such as race, socioeconomics, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or identification, and disability may make individuals particularly vulnerable to sexual assault and influence the lack of reporting.
Quick Fact:
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research reports that more than 20 percent of Black women have been victims of rape. In addition, people who identify as Native American, Latinx, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander or of mixed race are also overrepresented as victims of sexual assault.
Learn More About Sexual Violence & Marginalized Groups - AVAILABLE NATIONAL RESOURCES:
National Sexual Violence Resource Center Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN) National Sexual Assault Hotline
National Black Justice Coalition
Please find attached the flyer for Denim Day, which is Wednesday, April 28th
If you are or know someone who is in need of services, please locate the nearest Sexual Violence Resource Center in your county. Attached is a list of centers or click on the DCF link: https://www.nj.gov/dcf/women/opvaw/svp/
For more information about SAAM, please contact the Division on Women at DOW@dcf.nj.gov
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