Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County Hanging Ribbons For Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Every 73 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County is aiming to shed light on the problem in hopes of changing the narrative that affects 1 in 3 females and 1 in 4 males according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

The Crisis Shelter will be coming into Ellwood City to put teal bows up on the light posts, and will additionally place yard signs around town in public community spaces. The organization plans to come into town the last week of March to set up and then return again the week of May 3-7 to take everything down.

“The motivation behind this campaign is to end the stigma surrounding sexual violence and reporting,” says Sophia Mills, Advocate at the Crisis Shelter.

“Often times, individuals who are impacted by this type of violence fear that they will be judged, ridiculed, or blamed for sharing their story. Our goal is that when an individual comes forward, the first response will be to believe them. That is a great first step to ending the stigma surrounding sexual violence: to start by believing,” added Rachel Pearce, Advocate at the Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County

The first day of action is Tuesday, April 6th when the shelter encourages everyone to wear teal for the day to help raise awareness for those impacted by sexual violence.

Below are some more important dates for the month of April as provided by the shelter:

• April 6th: Wear Teal Day/Day of Action – there will be some of our information as well as coffee sleeves in both The Confluence and Papa Gelataria in New Castle on this day
• April 7th: Start of the Start by Believing Campaign. Take a picture holding the Start By Believing Campaign Pledge Card (pictured right) and show you will support and believe all survivors.
• April 8th: Afternoons with an Advocate educational training session on Facebook Live – Sexual Violence: What You Need to Know
• April 22nd: Afternoons with an Advocate educational training session on Facebook Live
• April 28th: Denim Day – wear denim with a purpose, support survivors, and educate yourself about all forms of sexual violence. Take pictures and use the hashtag #DenimDay2021 (This campaign seeks to end victim-blaming culture. See the link for additional information about the campaign – www.denimdayinfo.org/why-denim)

Individuals aged 12-34 are at the highest risk for being assaulted or raped as well as individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community. For individuals 18 and under, it is considered child sexual abuse and 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys experience this in their childhood. Experiencing child sexual abuse is an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), and can affect how a person thinks, feels, and acts over their lifetime, resulating in short-term and long-term physical and emotional health consequences (CDC).

Mayor Anthony Court extended a warm welcome to Rachel Pearce, Advocate for Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County and thanked the Crisis Center for the continued support of the Ellwood City Community.

“Once again our community is coming together for a worthy cause,” said Mayor Court. “Sexual Abuse Awareness is a step in the right direction to help curtail these tragic happenings.”
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