April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) & Child Abuse Prevention Month

Hope House is working with community partners on a number of awareness projects this April.  We'll add information as we get it so please check back for more information on what we are doing for Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month. Apologies to any activities that we missed that community partners are organizing. Let us know here and we'll add it. 
FEATURED EVENT: April 24 is Denim Day
Denim Day is in honor of a young Italian woman who was raped by her driving instructor. He was convicted, but he appealed and the judges overturned the conviction. The judges decided that "...because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape, but consensual sex." Denim Day was created as a message in protest of victim-blaming. We need to start by believing survivors and not blame them for the sexual assault that someone else committed against them. 

You can participate in Denim Day by asking your employer to allow employees to wear jeans on April 24 in exchange for making a small donation to Hope House.

If your business, school, or church is interested in participating in Denim Day, please call Hope House at 608-356-9123 to let us know. We'd greatly appreciate it if you took photos of the participants wearing jeans and tag us on Facebook or email it to us at HHShelter@HopeHouseSCW.org.  We'll share the image on our Facebook page and e-bulletin.  

Thank you for your support!
Date-Specific Displays and Events
  • TBD: For Child Abuse Prevention Month, Hope House will have a blue pinwheel display on our front yard. Stop by and take one home. Each pinwheel has a Darkness to Light (child sexual abuse prevention organization) card with a quote about kids on it.
  • April 15-26: "What Were You Wearing?" Survivor Art Installation at UW-Baraboo. This installation provides a tangible response to one of our culture’s most pervasive rape myths. Outfits featured have been recreated from the stories of student survivors/victims. This installation contains descriptions of sexual violence, which may cause an emotional  response. Resources are available inside should you need them.
  • April 23: Embrace Your Voice This April: Supporting Survivors of Sexual Assault presentation at the Portage Public Library from 5:30-7pm. Hope House, in partnership with the Portage Public Library, will be giving a free presentation on how to best support survivors of sexual assault.  
Month-Long Activities
  • Listen in to 99.7 MAX FM, 92.1 WRJC, and Wisconsin 106.1 for SAAM PSAs and interviews.
  • Watch for our Sexual Assault Awareness Month displays at Gundersen Hospital in Adams, Divine Savior Hospital in Portage, Compass Counseling in Portage, the Marquette County Courthouse, Madison College in Reedsburg and Portage, UW-Baraboo, and the public libraries in Portage, Mauston, Montello, and Westfield.
  • Thank you to Mayor Mike Palm for proclaiming April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Baraboo!
  • Hope House staff are putting up our three different "3 Things You Can Do to Prevent Sexual Assault" posters in our five county service area.
  • The public libraries in Wisconsin Dells, Reedsburg, and Sauk City will have Child Abuse Prevention Month displays with materials for community members to take home, including pinwheel pens and coloring sheets, CAPM stickers and flyers, child sexual abuse prevention bookmarks and workbooks, and Hope House brochures. 
  • Child Abuse Prevention Month flyers will be given out at The Grainery in Baraboo.
  • Check back for more updates!
Resources

​SAAM Church Bulletin Insert: Click here to download Hope House's church bulletin insert that you can use any week in April. ​
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The National Sexual Violence Resource Center

​The NSVRC is the go-to resource for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Their national theme this year is I Ask.

Check out their site for coloring pages, posters, a toolkit, handouts, social media guide and graphics, the #30DaysofSAAM Instagram contest, and more.
Start By Believing is a public awareness campaign designed by End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI) to change the way we respond to rape and sexual assault in our communities.  Check out their website to make your personal commitment and to view their many campaign resources, such as printed materials, articles, talking points, proclamations, brochures, and promotional materials. 
Flip the Switch: Champion Gymnast, Aly Raisman announced a partnership with Darkness to Light through the Flip the Switch campaign. This campaign calls on all adults involved in youth sports to complete Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children® training, with the online training offered at no cost. Learn more here.
The Five Days of Action, April 22-26, “is a week designed to raise awareness and inspire adults to take action to protect children from sexual abuse...This year's theme is: Know. See. Respond. We’re providing tools and resources to make it easy to participate and engage your community, including:​
  • social media images and sample copy;
  • commitment cards, signs, and posters to print;
  • an interactive quiz;
  • and an easy-to-use implementation guide including email templates and a press release.”
Download the toolkit here
National Child Abuse Prevention Month from Child Welfare Information Gateway:

​The Child Welfare Information Gateway's National Child Abuse Prevention Month website has their 2019 resource guide, tip sheets, protective factors vignettes, publications, video gallery, information on Adverse Childhood Experiences, and more!