(nsvrc.org/saam)

Sexual Assault Awareness Month is coming to an end. At the beginning of the month we included a "featured news" about SlutWalk Toronto, and later a "featured read" of an interview with the co-founders of SlutWalk. Reviewing our content, however, it seems we have done little else to promote awareness.

Since sexual assault does not end in the month of April, we have added our first "featured contributor" submission as a reminder that sexual assault continues. All around the world. Even in small towns. As the contributor writes:

I was a bit shocked at some of the responses I received by people who said things like, “Well, this sort of thing doesn’t happen in our town.” Unfortunately this belief gets in the way of a common understanding of the prevalence of, and need for services for survivors of sexual assault. [...] We can no longer say, “This doesn’t happen in my town.” But we can say, “We will not stand for this to happen in my town.” Because the overall health and vitality of [our] community depends upon everyone living without the fear of violence, we must raise public awareness about how sexual violence impacts our community and work to educate ourselves, our children and each other about how to prevent it.

If you have been sexually assaulted we urge you to seek support within your community. Check our "external resources" page if you need help with where to start.