Sexual assaults: Questions for a community to talk about
April is Sexual Assault Awareness month. During this time it is important to talk about sexual assault not just as individuals but as a community.
We need to ask ourselves how we want to treat survivors. How do we support friends, co-workers, and family in finding the best path possible to healing?
Sexual assault affects people of any age, gender identity, race, or creed. There are as many ways to experience sexual assault as there are people in the world. There is no road map to how a person will cope with an assault, but there are ways a community can come together and make the road to healing a smoother transition for the survivor.
When someone has been through an assault, it is most important that the person feels heard in the aftermath. This can be communicated in many ways, but the most powerful is believing them and respecting their choices about what they need to heal. It can be difficult to understand that a person might not want to involve law enforcement.
Some people believe the only way to find justice is through the legal system. While that is true for some survivors, others find the system creates more personal pain and often intensifies self-blame about their assault.
It is always important to let survivors know they are not responsible for ending sexual assault. This is a societal problem. It is not up to survivors to prevent further sexual assault.
The only person who can stop sexual assault is the person who makes the choice to do so.
When we are able to support survivors not just as individuals, but as a community we can begin to dismantle the larger issues of a culture that fosters sexual assault.
When people have freedom to heal from sexual assault in the way they choose, we are paving a path for consent for generations to come. People need to know, in all aspects of life, they always have choices, including saying no to sex.
If we can have open conversations about what support can look like in our community, we can also talk about how to prevent sexual assault.
Simon Conrad has worked at SafePlace for two years as the sexual assault advocacy specialist. Simon manages the sexual assault program and works directly with survivors of sexual assault.
This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Sexual assaults: Questions for a community to talk about."