Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Together We Act, United We Change: Recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2025

April 2025 is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) – a time to join our collective call to action to prevent sexual abuse, assault, and harassment. SAAM calls attention to the fact that sexual violence is widespread and impacts every person and community. The theme of Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2025, "Together We Act, United We Change," emphasizes the importance of collective action in addressing and preventing sexual abuse, assault, and harassment.

We believe education is the first step to action and empowers our communities to be part of the solution. This campaign works to shift the ways our communities understand, talk about, and respond to sexual violence.

By learning and taking action together, we can challenge harmful misconceptions and foster safer communities. This campaign also seeks to unite us in uplifting the voices of survivors—particularly those from underserved and marginalized communities—to build a more inclusive movement. By incorporating intersectionality and acknowledging how race, gender, and identity shape survivor experiences, we can work toward a future that leaves no one behind and empowers everyone to take action to end sexual violence.

Navigating Healing in Therapy

Healing from sexual assault is not a linear process, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. If you are working with a therapist, here are some ways to use therapy effectively during SAAM:

• Acknowledge Your Feelings: Whether you feel anger, sadness, fear, or numbness, all feelings are valid. Therapy provides a space to process these emotions safely.

• Set Boundaries: If discussing sexual assault in the media or community triggers distress, you have the right to set boundaries. Let your therapist know what feels safe and what does not.

• Explore Coping Strategies: Your therapist can help you develop tools to manage triggers, flashbacks, or anxiety related to trauma.

• Work on Empowerment: Healing often involves reclaiming your sense of self, control, and voice. Therapy can support you in setting goals and engaging in self-care practices that foster empowerment.

• Consider Trauma-Specific Therapy: Modalities like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), somatic therapy, and trauma-focused CBT can be particularly helpful for survivors of sexual violence.

How to Support a Survivor

If you are supporting someone who has experienced sexual assault, here are some key ways to be there for them:

• Believe Them: The most powerful thing you can do is listen and believe without judgment.

• Offer Support, Not Pressure: Let them decide how and when to talk about their experience. Avoid pushing for details or specific actions.

• Encourage Professional Help: If they are open to it, encourage seeking therapy or support groups.

• Respect Their Boundaries: Healing is personal, and survivors should be in control of their own journey.

Changing Together for a Better Future

Ending sexual abuse, assault, and harassment requires more than individual action—it calls for us to shift and change systems of oppression and inequity. Addressing inequalities like racism, sexism, and ableism is crucial to reducing violence, especially in communities disproportionately affected by these issues. Promoting health equity ensures that everyone can live in safe, supportive environments. Through collective action in our workplaces, schools, and communities that uphold safety and respect, we can dismantle systems that perpetuate violence. Engaging younger generations is key to sustaining this movement and ensuring that efforts to prevent sexual violence continue to grow and adapt.

Together, we have the power to build a future free from violence, where all individuals feel safe, valued, and respected.

Resources for Survivors and Supporters

If you or someone you know needs support, here are some trusted resources:

• National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) | www.rainn.org

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) | www.thehotline.org

• The Joyful Heart Foundation: www.joyfulheartfoundation.org (Resources for healing and advocacy)

• 1in6: www.1in6.org (Support for male survivors of sexual abuse)

• Pandora’s Project: www.pandys.org (Online community for survivors of sexual violence)

• Therapy Directories: Psychology Today and TherapyDen can help you find trauma-informed therapists.

Stay Connected and Get Involved

Be on the lookout for our resources, materials, graphics, and more! If you have any questions about SAAM 2025, how to get involved, or ways to collaborate to address and prevent sexual abuse, assault, and harassment, please contact us at communicationsteam@nsvrc-respecttogether.org.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month is an opportunity to advocate for survivors, educate ourselves, and foster a culture of consent and respect. If you are navigating this journey in therapy, know that healing is possible, and you are not alone. Whether you seek support, offer it to others, or engage in awareness efforts, your voice and experience matter.

If you need support, don’t hesitate to reach out—to a trusted friend, a therapist, or a resource above. You deserve healing, safety, and care.