Featured Article: April 2002
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Daniel A. Perez,  Executive Director
Comal County Women’s Center
New Braunfels, TX 78131-0344

Imagine that you woke up tomorrow to find that one out of four women and one out of six men in the United States had become ill with a life altering disease. Surely this event would be the lead story on every newscast and on the front page of every newspaper in America. Not one of us would go unaffected as we all know, work with or are related to four women or six men. Certainly the citizens of the United States would be calling on the government to take action and find a cure for this illness and everyone would be focused on ending this problem. If this sounds like a scenario out of a science fiction movie you might be surprised to know that it is much closer to reality. Current statistics show that one out of four women and one out of six men will be victims of some form of sexual violence in their lives. While sexual violence affects a significant portion of our population, it remains a subject that we do not want to discuss or acknowledge. The myths about sexual assault continue to perpetuate in the consciousness of society. We have all heard, ‘it was what she was wearing’, ‘she was drunk’ and ‘she asked for it’. No one asks to be sexually assaulted through his or her actions or dress. Studies show that seventy-one percent of sexual assaults are planned in advance. Fifty percent of sexual assaults occur in the homes of victims and in more than sixty percent of cases the victim knows the assailant. Often people mistakenly believe that sexual assault only occurs to certain groups of people defined by gender, age, or ethnic background. Sexual assault can happen to people of both genders and all ages, races, cultures, education levels, sexual orientations and economic status. No segment of our society is immune to the possibility of sexual assault. Many are also mistaken in believing that sexual assault is about sex. It is not, sexual assault is about power and control over another person. While the causes and realities are difficult to accept, the outcomes are very real. Victims often feel guilt, anger, or depression and are unable to sleep or continue relationships with the ones they love. Eating habits change and many can not make decisions or concentrate. Victims can lose their sense of self and in some cases contemplate suicide. Sexual assault is a crime that affects victims for the rest of their lives. Those who believe that sexual assault has not affected them because they have not been assaulted should think about the impact of sexual assault on society. Billions of dollars a year are spent on medical care, evidence collection, prosecution and incarceration related to sexual assault cases. Federal and state funding is used to support rape crisis centers and other agencies that provided services for victims and their families. And while the financial burden that America pays is great, the moral debt is even greater. As long as sexual assault continues to occur, no one is truly safe. What does sexual assault teach our children? Do they learn that power and control is acceptable and that some crimes can go unpunished?

We live in a wonderful community full of kind and generous individuals and this often leads people to believe that sexual assault does not occur in our town. Unfortunately sexual assault occurs everywhere, including New Braunfels. Last year the Comal County Women’s Center provided services to more than 140 individuals who reported some type of sexual assault and crisis advocates responded to more than 36 requests for sexual assault crisis intervention at the emergency room. As you read these numbers you should know that it is generally accepted that only one in ten sexual assault victims ever reports the crime. So the actual number of assaults occurring in our community is much higher. For those who have been assaulted, help is available. Crisis intervention, counseling, case management, legal advocacy and other support services are available to anyone who has experienced sexual assault or sexual violence. The center also provides sexual assault prevention education to any group requesting a presentation. April is recognized nationally as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. During this time we bring attention to the problem of sexual assault and what services are available to victims. By talking about this problem we are better able to prevent it.