April is observed as Sexual Assault Prevention & Awareness Month. This initiative was officially declared in 2001 by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, with the purpose of unifying state coalitions, college campuses, and community organizations in their efforts to end all forms of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. Now in the 22nd year of official observation, individuals and communities come together during this month to honor the grassroots activism that has led to systemic change in the way we recognize, prevent, and respond to sexual violence, while also advancing education and social change around present-day challenges related to this public health issue. 

Sexual assault is a type of interpersonal violence that someone can experience at any point in the life course – as a child, adolescent, young adult, adult, or as an elder. Definitions to be aware of include:

• • Sexual Assault:
    • Rape: penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the presence of active, willing & ongoing consent.
    • Fondling: intentionally touching the private body parts of another person without consent. This may occur over or underneath clothing. It includes coercing someone to touch another person or themselves.
    • Incest: any sexual contact that occurs between individuals related to each other within the degrees where marriage is prohibited by law.

• • Statutory Rape: intentionally or knowingly causing sexual penetration of a child (person younger than 17 years old)

• • Sexual Exploitation: Taking non-consensual or abusive sexual advantage of another for one’s own advantage or benefit, or to benefit or advantage anyone other than the one being exploited.

Sexual assault often occurs alongside stalking and dating & domestic violence. It is an escalation of physical abuse that may include warning signs of emotional & economic abuse, verbal abuse, and behaviors that are intended to intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, and isolate someone.

While this topic is obviously difficult to talk about & acknowledge, it is clearly important to understand that it affects undergraduate and graduate/professional students on our campus and others within our communities. While our Texas A&M University campus and surrounding community are safe places to learn, work, and live, Aggies are still impacted by power-based personal violence. In the most recent Association of American Universities Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct (2019), we know the following from students at Texas A&M who participated:

• • 30% of women, 8% of men, and 32% of transgender, genderqueer, and nonconforming (TGQN) individuals were sexually assaulted (N=3,140: includes undergraduate & graduate/professional students).

This underscores the importance of why college campuses remain at the forefront of providing prevention education and supporting students in identifying the appropriate resources that support their safety & healing.

 

The theme for Health Promotion’s 2023 Sexual Assault Prevention & Awareness Month is Solidarity. It pays tribute to the foundations of this movement but also serves as a call to action, especially as we find ourselves at the forefront of a unique cultural and social shift towards understanding the proliferation of sexual violence and related trauma.  

Our prevention education and awareness programming this year will reflect the necessary practices called upon by national organizations, educators, public health professionals, and advocates. We will intentionally elevate voices, provide strategies for others to disrupt the social, cultural and gender norms that promote violence, share culturally-relevant and inclusive resources, and normalize trauma-informed conversations about sexual violence. We hope that you will join us in solidarity to each other as an Aggie community and the broader communities you represent.  

 

If you or someone you know is being impacted by sexual violence (including dating or domestic abuse, stalking, exploitation, or harassment) we encourage you to contact the Sexual Assault Resource Center of Brazos Valley (SARC) at 979-731-1000 or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673. These lines are confidential and available 24/7. April is also recognized as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Scotty's House is our local agency that provides support to minors affected by any type of abuse, including sexual violence.   

Additional Resources:

• Baylor Scott & White Medical Center. This is the only medical center in Brazos Valley that currently has 24/7 on call forensic nurses. Survivors who are seeking medical care and may want to pursue a forensic exam are encouraged to go here, to minimize retraumatization. The Sexual Assault Resource Center dispatches a state-certified advocate to provide trauma-informed support during the hospital intake and medical processes.
• Texas A&M Student Health Services. Provides medical care, mental health care, medication & pharmacy services, emergency contraception, PrEP and PEP, and longer-term post-care following a forensic exam at Baylor Scott & White.
• Twin City Mission Domestic Violence Services. Contact for safety planning around relationship violence & abuse, emergency & long-term housing options, counseling, case management, and/or legal advocacy.
• Unbound Bryan College-Station. Contact for support with any suspected or known human trafficking in Brazos Valley.
• Texas A&M Counseling & Psychological Services. Texas A&M students: contact for more information on individualized counseling and support groups for survivors.

These agencies work together with the Sexual Assault Resource Center, Scotty's House, and other state & national organizations, to provide protections to anyone who has experienced or witnessed violence & abuse.

_{Sources:
Association of American Universities, Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct (2019). Texas A&M University Report.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020). Violence Prevention.
Texas A&M University, Department of Civil Rights and Equity Investigations (2022). Glossary of Terms.}