April is Sexual Assault awareness month and Families in Crisis would like to invite the community to join us in our efforts to spread the word about sexual assault. Families in Crisis will be offering a FREEviewing of the movie AUDRIE & DAISY at the Park Theatre April12, 2018 @ 6:00pm. It is an urgent real-life drama that examines the ripple effects on families, friends, schools and communities when two underage young women find that sexual assault crimes against them have been caught on camera. From acclaimed filmmakers Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk (The Island President, The Rape of Europa), AUDRIE & DAISY — which made its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival — takes a hard look at American’s teenagers who are coming of age in this new world of social media bullying, spun wildly out of control. During this time Families in Crisis will also be displaying “What I was wearing when I was Raped”, a display of clothing that victims of sexual assault were wearing when they were sexually assaulted. This display asks participants to understand that it was never about the clothing and the act of shedding those clothes is never enough to bring peace or comfort to survivors. The violation is not simply woven in to the fabric of the material, it is a part of the survivor's new narrative. If only ending sexual violence was as easy as changing our clothes. Instead it requires all of us to evaluate what enabled us as individuals and as a society to ask, “what were you wearing?” in the first place, instead of what can we do to help!
Victims of sexual violence living in rural counties have additional obstacles to overcome than those in urban areas. Opportunities for medical, legal or support services are scarce, or even non-existent. Families in Crisis is working to decrease these barriers for victims of sexual violence in Warren, Grundy and Sequatchie Counties by offering free comprehensive services to victims of sexual violence that include: 24hr emergency shelter for victims fleeing a dangerous situation, Hospital Accompaniment, Individual supportive counseling, support groups and Court Advocacy. At the initial point of contact our advocates will provide guidance in prioritizing the victims immediate needs based on the severity of their crisis and target the most appropriate response at the discretion of the victim. All sexual violence victims can be assessed either by phone or in person and victims who are presented with immediate safety issues can be directed and assessed for our emergency shelter if desired by the victim. Intimidation of the legal system and the perpetrator can often prevent a victim from participating in the judicial process. Our Advocates act as liaison between the victim and the judicial system, whileproviding quality supportive services and informing the victim of their rights.
- One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives
- In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime
- 51.1% of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance
- Annually, rape costs the U.S. more than any other crime ($127 billion), followed by assault ($93 billion), murder ($71 billion), and drunk driving, including fatalities ($61 billion)
- Rape is the most under-reported crime; 63% of sexual assaults are not reported to police
Please join Families in Crisis as we raise awareness about sexual assault! For any questions please feel free to call us at 931-473-6221 or 931-473-6543.
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