April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and this year marks the 25th anniversary of its recognition. SAAM was first nationally observed in 2001; however, the fight against sexual violence has been brewing for many decades.
Take Back The Night is one of the earliest recorded sexual assault awareness campaigns, with its roots tracing back to the 1970s. The march is a way for people to protest sexual violence and raise awareness as a preventative measure against future violence.
SAAM is the result of early protests against gender-based violence and sexual harassment. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center is now the national leader of SAAM, with its 2026 campaign theme being “25 Years Stronger: Looking Back, Moving Forward.” As we look back at the history of violence prevention, we can thank communities across the world for spreading awareness of sexual violence, taking action, and honoring those who have been affected.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month is a time for us all to gather and talk openly about sexual violence, increase awareness, support survivors, and advocate for a culture that is free of such violence.
The Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence presents a framework for living violence-free with the Prevention Through Liberation lens. PTL presents anti-oppression as a primary preventative measure against sexual violence and recognizes that oppression in all its forms—sexism, classism, racism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, etc—creates significant barriers to a more equitable culture. When people are faced with oppressive systems, it becomes much more difficult to create cultural norms that uplift consent and combat harmful power dynamics. The current cultural norms allow people in power to avoid accountability for sexual violence and do not encourage people to speak out against oppressive behaviors.
So what can we do as a community to combat sexual violence? While awareness of sexual violence will always be crucial to the fight, teaching violence prevention from the beginning is tremendously important.
Starting conversations about consent with people of all ages, respecting others’ physical and emotional boundaries, and encouraging relationships that focus on autonomy can uplift a consent-centered culture.
The more knowledge we have about how our society’s norms, cultural attitudes, and social power dynamics impact sexual and gender-based violence, the more prepared we are for encouraging real change and lower rates of harm in our community.
When it comes to supporting survivors of sexual violence, the foremost thing is validating and believing their experience. In fact, the impact of a negative reaction to a disclosure directly influences whether or not a survivor will access resources and help after an assault. Survivors of sexual violence often experience feelings of self-blame due to the way our culture questions, downplays, and doubts the harm they’ve faced. Silencing survivors and blaming them for the event is emblematic of the powerlessness they may experience. It is so important for us all to hear stories of survivors, tell them we believe them, we see them, and we care for them.
1 Ahrens, Courtney E. “Being silenced: the impact of negative social reactions on the disclosure of rape.” American journal of community psychology vol. 38,3-4 (2006): 263-74. doi:10.1007/s10464-006-9069-9
At As You Like It, we have a variety of books that tell survivor stories and bolster knowledge of consent. Here is a list of some books we recommend to anyone interested in learning more:
Unbound by Tarana Burke
Can We Talk About Consent?: A book about freedom, choices, and agreement by Justin Hancock, Fuchsia Macaree (Illustrator)
If you or someone you love needs support and resources after surviving sexual or domestic violence, here are some great programs in the state of Oregon and nationally:
Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (based in Portland, OR) statewide resource finder: https://www.ocadsv.org/find-help/
Jackson County SART, based in Ashland, OR: https://www.jacksoncountysart.org/
Community Works, based in Medford, OR: https://www.community-works.org/
Women’s Crisis Support Team, based in Grants Pass, OR and serves all people of any gender: https://www.wcstjoco.org/
Children’s Advocacy Center of Jackson County, based in Medford, OR: https://cacjc.org/
Sexual Assault Resource Center, based in Hillsboro, OR: https://sarcoregon.org/
The Raphael House, based in Portland, OR: https://raphaelhouse.com/
Sexual Assault Support Services based in Eugene, OR: https://sass-lane.org/
Hope and Safety Alliance, based in Eugene, OR: https://www.hopesafetyalliance.org/
National Sexual Violence Resource Center, based in Harrisburg, PA: https://www.nsvrc.org/
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), national level services: https://rainn.org/
The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, based in Lame Deer, MT: https://www.niwrc.org/
Esperanza United, based in St. Paul, MN: https://esperanzaunited.org/en/j