April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It’s important to define the term sexual violence and identify the impact of sexual violence on individuals, families, and communities.

Sexual violence occurs when someone forces, manipulates or coerces another person to do any unwanted sexual activity. This crime affects one in six women in Oregon, and the impact of such trauma exposure is vast. Every survivor’s path to healing is unique, there is no “wrong response” to abuse. Some responses to surviving sexual violence include: nightmares, flashbacks, depression, difficulty concentrating, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and phobias, eating disorders, substance use and abuse, low self-esteem, guilt, embarrassment, self-blame, anger, sadness, fear, distrust and vulnerability.