Gender Equality United States Project #19084

Support rape victims ages 4 to 71 years old

Summary

Every 2 minutes someone in America is sexually abused. 44% of victims are under age 18. In 2013, the Center for Safety & Change provided more than 3,000 services to survivors of sexual assault, through the Center's counseling, advocacy, therapy and hospital and court accompaniment programs. The victims' ages ranged from a woman who was 71 years old, to three girls who were each only 4 years old. In addition the Center runs violence prevention programs for teens, designed to help prevent abuse.

$20,000
total goal

$14,308
remaining

95
donors

0
monthly donors

8
years

Challenge

This year, the Center's primary funding for sexual assault and prevention services was not renewed, placing these programs in a critical situation. As of January 2015, this could leave victims of sexual assault, as young as 4 without trained support and advocacy services at the hospital and in court. Without making up for the lost funds, we simply cannot afford the staff to perform these type of services for all of the victims who report to the hospitals, police, the Center or other agencies.

Solution

This project will help sustain the Center's critical, decades-old and proven services to the women, children and men in our community who survived sexual assault. Furthermore, it will help reduce future sexual assaults through the in-school and college-based prevention programs, where youth learn how they can create better, safer relationships when they have reliable information, guidance, experience, and models of healthy, respectful, non-abusive relationships.

Long-Term Impact

We will help approximately 300 survivors of sexual assault process and deal with the trauma they experienced, helping them heal and move on with their lives. Additionally, about 3,000 high school and college students each year will become knowledgeable on topics such as respectful and healthy relationships, dating violence, sexual assault, the laws on consent, gender roles, controlling behaviors, bullying/cyber bullying, media literacy, bystander issues, and how to find help.