April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and we all need to talk about what sexual assault is, who is the most likely to experience it, how to protect ourselves and future generations and how to help others who are experiencing sexual assault. Sexual assault is any nonconsensual sexual act. This can range from showing others inappropriate photos of you to others to attempted rape. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) young women are more likely to be assaulted than any other group, with females ages 16-19 being 4 times more likely to be assaulted than the general population. This does not discredit the men who are sexually assaulted; 3% of men in the United States have experienced attempted or completed rape in their lifetimes. These are terrifying statistics, but there is a way to make change in this arena.

We need to push out awareness for this issue and let the people who have experienced these things know that they are not alone and what happened to them wasn’t their fault. We need a widespread push to expose everyone to the knowledge that others have to experience every day. If you are experiencing sexual assault, make sure you tell a trusted friend or adult or call the Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673. We can all make our society a better place with more knowledge about the terrible things that happen to good people around all of us.