Let's End Sexual Violence!

News

SPEAK UP! SPEAK OUT! Pledge to do your part in ending sexual violence - click here for more information

Resources

Recommendations to Prevent Sexual Violence in Oregon: A Plan of Action click here

Report on the sexualization of girls released by the American Psychological Association click here

Poised for Prevention: Advancing Promising Approaches to Primary Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence click here

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Within Youth-serving Organizations: Getting Started on Policies and Procedures click here

A Silent Epidemic

Sexual violence occurs so frequently and yet is reported so rarely, that it has been identified as a silent epidemic. An estimated one in six, or 230,000 Oregon women have experienced rape at least once in their lifetime (One in Six. Rape in Oregon: A Report to the State).

Sexual violence affects everyone. According to statistics cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control:

• One in six women (17%) and one in thirty-three men (3%) reported experiencing an attempted or completed rape at some time in their lives.

• About 2 out of 1000 children in the United States were confirmed by child protective service agencies as having experienced sexual assault in 2003.

• Available data greatly underestimate the true magnitude of the problem. Rape is one of the most underreported crimes. In 2002, only 39% of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement officials.

Even if you are not a victim of sexual violence, you are still affected. Though you may not realize it, you probably know someone who has experienced sexual violence.

Sexual violence also affects the way we all live our lives - women and men.

Prevention is Key

While there is greater recognition of the reality of sexual violence in society, more still needs to be done to prevent sexual violence. That is, additional strategies are needed:

• to stop sexual violence before it occurs,

• to reduce the risk of susceptible populations,

• to create a climate where sexual violence is not tolerated, and

• to develop environments where healthy relationships and healthy sexuality is the norm.

Over the past thirty years, the prevalence of sexual violence and its impact on society, the economy, and children has become better understood and recognized due to efforts of advocates, victims, governmental entities, universities, and the public health sector. A challenge that remains is to first recognize that:

sexual violence is preventable

and then to answer the question:

How do we best prevent sexual violence
from occurring in the first place?

The information contained in this website seeks to provide answers to that question and to help individuals and communities who are interested in working to end sexual violence.