Raising Awareness of Sexual Assault

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, or SAAM. Sponsored by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)

The theme this year is “Building Safe Spaces Online Together.”

Sexual violence statistics

Sexual violence is a pervasive According to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 43.6% of American women (amounting to nearly 52.2 million) experienced some form of contact with sexual violence in their lifetime. Likewise, nearly a quarter of men (24.8% or 27.6 million) in the U.S. have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.

While physical assault and rape are the crimes most people associate with sexual assault, the NSVRC also reports on instances of sexual abuse facilitated online, including harassment and exploitation.

As public spaces have moved online over the last few years in response to the pandemic, the opportunities for virtual sexual harassment, abuse, and exploitation have likewise increased. To address this, the NSVRC is focusing this year’s SAAM theme on building a safe online environment for all.

New terms, same abuse

According to the NSVRC, online sexual abuse “can be any type of sexual harassment, exploitation, or abuse that takes place through screens,” and is often motivated by the same things that influence a person to commit in-person sexual violence.

Those motivators may include harmful beliefs about masculinity, femininity, and gender roles, hatred, fear, or misconceptions about marginalized groups, insecurity, or a desire to exert power over someone else.

When channeled online, these motivators may drive behaviors like:

• Unwelcome communication about sex or hateful comments based on sex, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation
• Sending partners, friends, acquaintances, or strangers unwanted requests for nude photos or videos or to livestream sexual acts
• Performing sexual acts on webcam without the consent of everyone involved or in inappropriate settings, like during a class or work meeting
• Revenge porn or nonconsensual pornography, which entails sharing private images or videos without the consent of everyone involved (a crime in 46 states plus Washington, D.C.)
• Zoombombing, or sharing porn in spaces where not everyone has consented to view it (i.e., in inappropriate spaces like Zoom meetings)
• Grooming children to enable their sexual abuse either online or offline

For more terms unique to online abuse and harassment, like astroturfing and doxxing, see the NSVRC glossary here.

Combating online sexual abuse

Fighting instances of sexual abuse online requires not only individual vigilance but also a community commitment to safe shared spaces. This may include simple things like reporting inappropriate content through the correct channels, standing up for someone being publicly harassed, or identifying victim-blaming and other harmful languages.

Additional resources for building a safe and inclusive online community can be found through the NSVRC and the CDC.

A critical need

Sexual Assault Awareness Month is a chance to shine a spotlight on a dark corner of modern society — and also to uplift those working hard to care for those who have experienced sexual assault.

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, or SANEs, are nurses specially trained in respectful, patient-centered healthcare, including the collection of vital evidence for adult and adolescent survivors of sexual assault. This training makes SANEs vital partners in the judicial process, as well as compassionate advocates for survivors.

There is a critical shortage of SANEs in the U.S. To work as a SANE, nurses must complete 40 hours of didactic education approved by the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), plus an additional 16 clinical hours aiding adult and adolescent sexual assault survivors.

To learn more about SANEs and get started on your SANE certification, view the IAFN-approved 40-hour Elite course here