
The last few weeks at work I have been preparing for April.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) in the United States. It's a month to raise public awareness about sexual violence and to educate individuals and communities on how to help prevent sexual assault.
I've been working in colleges and universities, as a professional, for...oh gosh....seven years now. And with the different positions I've held have always been a part of the prevention programming. It's something that I think is especially important and near and dear to my heart.

I currently work at a graduate level college; a first for me. Educating
"adults"...future doctors...about domestic violence and sexual assault
is so much different than educating undergraduates about prevention.
* * *
It's said that 1 in 3 women are assault in their lifetime, in the United States.
Think about that.
1 in 3 women!
Look around you.... At work, at school, in your family....1 in 3....
I live in a house with two other women (my mother and my younger sister)... There are three of us.
I am that 1 in 3.
I am a survivor.
* * *
It's been nearly 15 years since my boyfriend (at the time) forced me to have sex with him. I wasn't asked if I wanted to. I wasn't asked if I was ready to lose my virginity. I wasn't even sure what was happening until it was over.
We had gone out on our first "real" date earlier that evening, and saw a movie. He was taking me home. We were outside my house, with my family just inside, and before I knew it.....
He didn't hit me or threaten me or even say anything to me during it. It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds before a car came around the corner and he stopped and went home. It was a few days before I talked to him again, before I broke up with him, no explanation just I didn't want to see him anymore.
Even now, years later, and after all the work I've done in prevention education, I still have a hard time saying "I was raped".
"Rape" always is portrayed as something "violent" and this wasn't....but I do know that sex is about consent and I didn't give my consent.
He didn't ask.
And I didn't say yes.
* * *
April may be the designated month to educate and bring awareness to our communities, friends, family and selves about sexual assault. But rape and sexual violence doesn't happen just once a year.
Interpersonal violence and abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, sexual orientation, size or strength.
So next time you hear a friend shout "You just got raped" when playing a video game, laughing at a "prison-Bubba" joke, or making light of a music video/movie/commercial that makes light of domestic and sexual violence... remember to look around you.
1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men* will be assaulted in their lifetime. Look around you. You may be in the room with a survivor. You may be that survivor.
Rape is no joke**
* * *
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted - please seek help.
National Rape Crisis Helpline
800.656.4673
800.656.4673
* * *
*1 in 6 men report being sexually assaulted. But where rape is still stigmatized as a "women's issue" it is agreed that this number is much higher when taking into consideration the assaults that go unreported.
**I understand, and realize, that this posting is being published on April 1st (April Fool's Day) but I assure you this entry is no joke and 100% my story.
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