*April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month!
*While the topic of sexual abuse is very uncomfortable for many to speak about publicly, I, for one, am not. It is my mission to raise awareness on this subject because it is the very predictable silence which provides a sex offender the veil and power to continue to prey upon his/her victims.
*Unfortunately, 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 7 boys experience sexual assault by the age of 18. Rape and sexual assaults are crimes of violence that have far too long been the "silent" crimes that few share with even family and friends. Please join me in breaking the silence, and empowering every child, teen or adult who is violated or abused to speak up and be heard.
*The SAAM Day of Action (formerly A Day to End Sexual Violence) will be observed on Wednesday, April 8, 2009. It is recognized nationally as a specific day to focus awareness on sexual violence prevention. Whether it's learning more about the issue, having discussions with your children and friends, volunteering, speaking out, supporting your local rape crisis centre or finding your own way to make a difference, both individual and collective action are encouraged.
*How would you complete the following sentence?
I am ending sexual violence by...
Please take a moment to review the following:
*About Shapeshifters
*Safety First: Protecting Our Children
*Queen Ifrica: Daddy
*(information herein gathered from a variety of sources)
8 comments:
Becoming more aware. Using my voice to get the word out. There isn't a day as a mother I don't think of ways to protect my children.
The percentages are too high! We need to begin somewhere. Silence is not the answer.
xo
Thank you for raising awareness. I spent years working with women who had been sexually abused as children. Very rewarding work watching them take their strength back and own their power.
It is a horrible crime! A great one speak out about!
keeping my children aware of the dangers, without scaring the heck out of them. And, teaching them, especially my boys, to respect others.
I just went to and read your three links to past blog posts and watched the video! I applaud you and your courage and your stance on this important issue. As one who works with young children this is invaluable information for me ~ Thank you for sharing!
Good for you for speaking out about an uncomfortable subject and raising awareness in this way. I can tell that you are passionate about protecting and empowering children. I've given your question some thought and I think that on a personal level I hope that I am helping to end sexual violence in the way I'm raising my son. Having read this post I'm now going to get hold of a book by Gavin De Becker called 'Protecting the Gift' that I've heard recommended many times. I hope that this will help increase my own awareness in helping sunnyboy be safe and empowered.
With my husband and three grown step-sons who are overly protective of my daughter, I think we've covered the protection part for her. Two of my sons swear that she will not date or go anywhere by herself until she is 25! I have to remind them that she already has one father (smile).
Seriously, as a victim myself, I found healing in helping others heal by volunteering at a local center from my home state. I haven't done this in many, many years. I've had it on my list for sometime to volunteer again. Thank you for bringing awareness to this list again.
I've read each article/posting again and I thank you for sharing!
P.S. I think I will pick up the Gavin De Becker book.
...teaching my daughters that 'bad touches' are not okay, that there are such things as bad secrets, and that they can talk to me about anything and everything. It seems obvious, but I know far too many people who either didn't ever hear it or didn't believe their mothers really meant it.
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