Believe. Support. EmPower.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), an opportunity to raise public awareness about sexual violence, including assault, abuse, and trafficking. Throughout the month, we take time to reflect on the strength and resilience of survivors and the perseverance of advocates and professionals who support survivors. By raising awareness, we can work together to start to put an end to the crime of sexual assault.
Here are ways you can get involved:
- Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and help spread the word on social media by sharing our posts or by using one of these examples of social media posts/messaging below:
- April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I stand with survivors. @twcwaukesha #EmPoweredByTruth #SAAM #SAAM2022 #BelieveSurvivors #Survivors #SexualAssault #Rape
- We are proud to stand with survivors during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and we join @twcwaukesha to raise awareness. #EmPoweredByTruth #SAAM #SAAM2022 #BelieveSurvivors #Survivors #SexualAssault #Rape
- In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experience some form of sexual assault in their lifetime. @twcwaukesha provides free and confidential support to adults and children affected by sexual assault, abuse, and trafficking. You can make a difference. Learn how you can support our work at: www.twcwaukesha.org. #EmPoweredByTruth #SAAM #SAAM2022 #BelieveSurvivors #Survivors #SexualAssault #Rape
- Register for our EmPower Luncheon on Wednesday, April 27th at the Brookfield Conference Center. We are honored to welcome Dylan Farrow as the keynote speaker for our 2022 (em)Power Luncheon. Farrow is an author, mother, activist, and the survivor at the heart of the Emmy-nominated docuseries, Allen v. Farrow. She has written about her story in essays for the New York Times and Los Angeles Times and has spoken out in interviews for CBS This Morning and The Drew Barrymore Show. For more information, click here!
- Participate in Denim Day on Wednesday, April 27th by wearing jeans. Ask others to join you in showing solidarity with survivors by participating in the world-wide movement. Learn more about the history of this day below.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month Virtual Toolkits:
You, your company, book club, sports group or congregation can partner with us this year by signing up to receive our virtual SAAM toolkits.
How does it work?
Sign up below and each Monday in April, we’ll email you a new resource that you can share to help build awareness about sexual assault, such as graphics, sample text, and display materials.
These resources can be posted on social media, printed off to display in reception areas, break rooms, or placed in windows, or shared in a company e-newsletter or church bulletin.
In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experience some form of sexual assault in their lifetime. By raising awareness that sexual assault is never acceptable, you are playing an important role in ending rape culture, and you are helping ensure survivors in our community know about The Women’s Center’s critical services.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!
The history behind Denim Day: Wednesday, April 27, 2022
An 18-year old girl is picked up by her married 45-year old driving instructor for her very first lesson. He takes her to an isolated road, pulls her out of the car, wrestles her out of one leg of her jeans and forcefully rapes her. Threatened with death if she tells anyone, he makes her drive the car home. Later that night she tells her parents, and they help and support her to press charges. The perpetrator is arrested and prosecuted. He is convicted of rape and sentenced to jail.
He appeals the sentence. The case makes it all the way to the Italian Supreme Court. Within a matter of days the case against the driving instructor is overturned, dismissed, and the perpetrator released. In a statement by the Chief Judge, he argued, “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.”
Enraged by the verdict, within a matter of hours the women in the Italian Parliament launched into immediate action and protested by wearing jeans to work. This call to action motivated and emboldened the California Senate and Assembly to do the same, which in turn spread to Patricia Giggans, Executive Director of Peace Over Violence, and Denim Day in LA was born. The first Denim Day in LA was in April 1999, and has continued every year since, developing into an international movement. This year, we ask that you wear your denim on April 27th in solidarity with all survivors of sexual assault.
Help is always available. Call our 24-Hour Hotline at 262.542.3828.
Thank you to WaterStone Bank for their support of
Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the mission of The Women’s Center.
WaterStone Bank has been serving the local community for over 100 years. They offer a suite of products and services that can help make a difference in your financial wellness. To learn more, click here.