April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Awareness Month.
•Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.
•One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.
•About 3% of American men—or 1 in 33—have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.
•One in 9 girls and 1 in 53 boys under the age of 18 have experienced sexual abuse or assault at the hands of an adult
And yet, community members tell the local Sexual Assault Victim Advocates: “Not in our community.” “I don’t know anyone who has been sexually assaulted or raped, so it can’t be happening in our rural area.” “Why did they let it happen?” “Men don’t get raped.”
The numbers in Waushara County as reported by ASTOP, (Assist Survivors *Treatment* Outreach*Prevention) include 77 reports of adult sex offense related calls and 70 reports of child sexual assaults in 2021. Those numbers have risen since 2020. So, yes, it does happen in our rural community. It is never the victim’s fault. No one asks to be sexually assaulted nor raped.
It’s not always easy to know what to say when someone tells you they’ve been sexually assaulted, especially if they are a friend or family member. For a survivor, disclosing to someone they care about can be very difficult, so we encourage you to be as supportive and non-judgmental as possible. And help them to make a call to one of the sexual assault providers listed below. They are trained professionals to help victims navigate what to do so that they can begin to heal.
ASTOP (920) 926-5395, CAP Services Family Crisis Center (920) 787-3889, and UMOS Latino Resource Center (920) 366-8921) offer free confidential and supportive advocacy, referral and information sharing, accompaniment for medical, legal, and justice related services, individual, family, or support group advocacy meetings, and counseling to area victims. Bilingual and bicultural advocates are available at both CAP Services (920) 787-4489, and UMOS Latino Resource Center (920) 366-8921. CAP Services also offers a 24 hour crisis line 1-800-472-3377 as well as ASTOP offers a 24 hour crisis line 920-926-5395.
•Statistics reported by RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)
