Sexual Assault Support

What Is Sexual Assault?

Sexual assault is any sexual activity or contact that happens without clear, freely given consent. That can look like unwanted touching, coercion, sexual harassment, or rape. It can happen once or as part of an ongoing pattern. A person can be sexually assaulted by a spouse or partner, date, family member, friend, acquaintance or stranger.

At its core, sexual assault is about power and control, not passion or desire. And no matter the circumstances, it is never the survivor's fault.

What Consent Really Means

Healthy relationships are built on consent, and real consent is enthusiastic, informed, and freely given, without pressure, manipulation, or fear. If consent is missing, taken back, or coerced in any way, what happens next is a violation, full stop.

If You Were Assaulted, It Was Not Your Fault

Survivors often carry shame, guilt, fear, or self-blame that is not theirs to carry. Responsibility always belongs to the person who caused harm.

Healing looks different for everyone, and there's no one "right" way to go about it. Some survivors find strength in sharing their story, going to therapy, or joining a support group. Others choose privacy, or a different path entirely. All of it is valid. Our job — and our community's job — is to listen, believe, and support.

Sexual Assault Can Happen to Anyone

Sexual assault affects people of every gender, sexual orientation, age, race, ethnicity, and background. It happens here, in our community, and it's far more common than many people realize.

It's also not always what people expect. Sexual violence can happen without a weapon, without a visible injury, and without a survivor physically fighting back. It can involve fear, grooming, trafficking, incapacitation, or harm caused by someone the survivor knows, trusts, or depends on. Freezing, going along with what's happening, or simply trying to get through it are survival responses, not signs of consent. If a survivor made it through, they did exactly what they needed to do to survive.

What makes an assault a violation isn't the presence of violence or weapons, it's the disregard for a person's consent, autonomy, safety, and rights.

Curious about your legal options? Learn about our Legal Advocacy program.

Understanding the Data

Understanding the realities of sexual violence helps us build a safer, more informed community.

Sexual violence can happen to anyone, though reported cases overwhelmingly involve female survivors (nearly 9 in 10 reported rapes). Prevention and support must address the disproportionate harm experienced by women and girls, while making sure every survivor, of every gender, receives care.

Sexual violence against men and boys is often overlooked, but it happens, too. Every survivor deserves to be recognized, believed, and supported, and naming this reality helps make sure no survivor is left out of the conversation.

Prevention Is Possible

Research shows that communities can reduce sexual violence by addressing the conditions that allow it to happen. That includes:

• Teaching healthy relationship skills, early and often
• Teaching children and youth about consent and setting and respecting boundaries
• Helping people learn to safely step in when something feels wrong
• Building communities that take harmful behavior seriously
• Strengthening economic stability for families
• Connecting survivors to compassionate, victim-centered support
• Holding perpetrators accountable for their actions

Want to be part of the solution? Learn how you can get involved as a volunteer.

Why Support Matters

Many survivors never tell anyone what happened. When they do reach out, how they're received can shape everything that comes next: whether they feel believed, seek care, report, or keep moving toward healing.

Survivors who connect with an advocate are more likely to report to law enforcement, more likely to receive medical care, and more likely to experience less distress overall. Support can't undo what happened, but it can restore something powerful: safety, choice, and connection.